Obama to seek 0.5% pay raise for federal employees

President Obama delivers remarks on the economy, Jan. 4, 2012, at Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

/ AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari

President Obama plans to propose lifting the pay freeze on civilian federal workers in the budget he submits to Congress next month.

An official with the Office of Management and Budget confirms a Washington Post report that the Administration will use the 2013 fiscal year budget to call for a modest 0.5 percent pay hike for civilian federal employees.

For a federal worker making $50,000 a year, that would amount to a $250 pay raise.

An OMB official says the 0.5 percent pay raise will cost $800 million in the 2013 budget.

Mr. Obama announced a two-year pay freeze on federal workers on November 29, 2010.

"The hard truth is that getting this deficit under control is going to require broad sacrifice," he said on that date. "And that sacrifice must be shared by the employees of the federal government."

He said it would save $28 billion over five years.

A proposal to lift the pay freeze is welcome news to the nation's 2 million federal workers, many of whom live in states deemed essential to Mr. Obama's bid for re-election. Over 300,000 civil federal employees live in Virginia, a state Mr. Obama won in 2008 and is counting on again this year.

The pay raise plan would have to be approved by Congress, where some members looked to continue the pay freeze in order to offset the cost of extending the payroll tax cut to the end of 2012.

[Guitfiddel]

"Is there really any difference between Barack Obama and the other Candidates?"

YES! A very BIG DIFFERENCE! President Obama has created more JOBS in our country (AMERICA instead of overseas for cheap wages and slave labor for MEGA PROFITS like Romney) in his FIRST YEAR OF OFFICE than any of the GOP presidential candidates, all of the current Tea Party/ Republicans in CONGRESS AND, the surplus gouging, Weapons of Mass Destruction LIARS did in their 8year term put together and still counting! I would say that's a BIG DIFERRENCE! AND, unlike the Right Wing-Rush Limbaugh-FOX News fans I'm going to "SITE" what I BLOG instead of the unsubstanciated unfounded conjecture, half-truths and lies:

www.politicususa.com/en/obama-gop-job-creation

[Wliberty]

Barack Obama would like to increase the money spent in Washington DC, Ron Paul would like to cut the expense of 1 trillion dollars over the period of the 1st year in office from Washington DC. Paul has promised to have a balanced budget in Washington by year 3. Is there really any difference between Barack Obama and the other Candidates?

http://youtu.be/eD_ybaXhXno

[tsigili]

No one else is getting raises.......so federal employees shouldn't be EITHER!

Obama is just paying off his cronies.

[take_a_number]

The man (obama) should be tried for treason this is buying more votes with taxpayer money.

[longtree-2009]

millions unemployed, homeless, hungry and there goes obama spending money again but not on or for them. obama spent one billion to overthrow qaddafi while ignoring millions of U.S. citizens who are suffering. now, obama is giving out salary increases to those already employed with benefits. obama has got to go, meaning voted out of office.

[Thisvotecounts]

I'm stunned. This comes completely out of nowhere.

[shurch4truth]

No one pays attention to federal employees when the economy is doing well. Then when it tanks everyone likes to punch them.....a bit cowardly considering that true facts show that they don't make as much as their counterparts in the private sector.

[Jaylah54]

Bullsh*t.

http://www.opm.gov/oca/11tables/html/gs.asp

[jschmidt27]

Obama has got to pay off those Federal workers for their votes.

[travelers345]

Why are we giving raises at all in an economy this bad? The reason why so many jobs have gone overseas is because workers overseas will work for less money.

This is a double edged sword and in my view a bad move. Maybe in a few years, but not now Mr. President.

[ProgressNow]

I'd suggest we take it up to 10%...