In a letter sent Tuesday to House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano (D-NY), Congressmen Edolphus Towns (D-MD) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA) urged the observance of the principle of pay parity in their committees’ FY 2010 budget appropriations.
The letter came on the heels of the recent House passage of the 2010 Defense Authorization Act, which requests a 3.4 percent pay adjustment for military personnel. Towns and Lynch made the case for upholding pay parity, stressing the importance of the contributions made by both uniformed and civilian personnel.
“Federal employees work side-by-side with military personnel both here and abroad, and deserve to be recognized for their extraordinary efforts,” the letter read. “Civilian employees serving at DoD, FBI, State, DHS and at many other agencies support the men and women of the armed forces and work tirelessly to ensure the security of our nation.”
NFFE has been a vocal supporter of pay parity, standing with the Congressmen in their effort to secure an equitable adjustment.
“We thank Chairmen Towns and Lynch for recognizing the contributions that both our civilian and military federal employees make for their country every day,” said NFFE National President Richard N. Brown. “We will continue to work hard to make sure that all federal employees receive the fair pay adjustment they deserve.”