Van Hollen Announces Federal Employee Pay Increase Included in Senate Appropriations Bill

Today U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen announced a 1.9 percent pay increase for federal employees as part of the Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, which unanimously passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

President Trump’s most recent budget proposed a total pay freeze for civil servants, even as the cost of living increases for middle-class families. This legislation, while not perfect, is a strong rebuke to those kinds of attacks on the federal workforce. Senator Van Hollen is also a cosponsor of Senator Brian Schatz’s (D-Hawaii) bill to provide a full 3 percent raise for federal employees.

“Our federal workforce protects our nation, ensures the safety of our food and medicine, delivers Social Security and veterans’ benefits, and carries out countless other responsibilities on behalf of our citizens. Yet instead of treating them like the dedicated and hardworking professionals that they are, the Trump Administration constantly attacks them,” said Senator Van Hollen. “I was proud to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure this modest raise, and I will keep fighting to ensure our federal employees receive the compensation and respect they deserve."