Even though Congress still hasn’t finished funding all federal agencies for the current fiscal year – leading to a disruptive shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security – work already has begun on developing proposed federal budgets for fiscal 2027.
As we do every year, AFGE has developed detailed issue papers identifying our key legislative priorities this year. Our legislative and political organizers are highlighting these priorities during their regular communications with key congressional committees and their staff.
Our key ask every year is to ensure that our federal agencies have the staffing and resources they need to serve the American public. This year especially, it’s critical for Congress to restore staffing and funding for the agencies hit hardest by the Trump administration’s war on federal workers – including the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Here’s a look at our top governmentwide legislative asks:
4.1% Pay Raise for Federal Workers in 2027
AFGE strongly supports House and Senate legislation that would provide federal employees with a 4.1% pay raise next year. This increase would be divided between a 3.1% across-the-board raise, as provided for under the 1990 pay comparability law, plus an average 1% raise that would vary by pay locality.
Wages for federal employees aren’t keeping pace with the rising cost of living and aren’t competitive with what workers could earn outside the federal government for similarly skilled work. Currently there is a 27% pay gap between federal- and private-sector salaries, according to the Federal Salary Council.
The pay raise bill is called the Federal Adjustment of Incomes Rates Act, or FAIR Act for short. The Senate bill, S. 3823, was introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) with 11 original cosponsors. The House bill, H.R. 7480, was introduced by Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) and currently has 25 bipartisan cosponsors.
Pay Raise Parity for Civil Service and Military Service Workers
Congress historically has recognized the principle of providing equal annual pay raises to civil service employees and military service members – acknowledging the vital role both groups of workers have in ensuring our safety and delivering critical services to the American people.
Unfortunately, the importance of pay raise parity has been ignored in recent years, resulting in federal civilian workers falling further behind their counterparts in not only the private sector but also their peers in the federal government.
President Trump deepened the divide between the haves and have nots when issuing this year’s pay increases – providing civil service employees in certain law enforcement positions with a 3.8% increase, matching the raise for military service members, while the rest of the federal civilian workforce received just a 1% across-the-board raise.
AFGE is calling on Congress to resume the longstanding practice of ensuring equal annual pay raises for all civil service employees and military service members.
Prevent Federal Worker Firings During Budget Stalemates
The continuing resolution that ended the historic 43-day government shutdown on Nov. 12 contained an AFGE-backed provision, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), prohibiting the Trump administration from issuing reduction-in-force notices to federal employees at any agency that is being funded through a continuing resolution.
AFGE is working closely with Sen. Kaine to retain this language in any spending deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the rest of the fiscal year.
About 90 percent of Homeland Security’s 260,000 employees are working without pay due to the ongoing shutdown, including employees at the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Read More
AFGE and its National Veterans Affairs Council are calling on a federal court to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to comply with a judge’s order restoring AFGE’s master collective bargaining agreement with the VA and all subsidiary agreements.
Read More
AFGE has developed detailed issue papers identifying our key legislative priorities this year.
Read More
