Efforts to overturn President Trump’s pay freeze and provide all federal employees with a cost-of-living increase next year are building steam on Capitol Hill ahead of crucial budget negotiations set to resume after the midterm elections in November.
Members of Congress who formed a caucus earlier this year to advocate for federal workers held a press conference on Capitol Hill last week with leaders from AFGE and other unions to amplify the need to pass a pay raise for federal employees despite the administration’s pay freeze.
In August, President Trump informed Congress he was freezing the salaries of all federal employees next year with the exception of those in law enforcement, who would receive a 3.8% increase. Trump issued the same pay freeze last year.
“No president has pursued divide and conquer quite like this one. Up until now, every single president, Democrat and Republican, has treated the whole federal workforce more or less the same – everyone got at least a minimal adjustment to help pay their bills. But not this one. And it is wrong. It’s the final insult,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said during the press conference.
A week before the news conference, 110 members of Congress sent a letter to House and Senate leadership calling on them to overturn Trump’s pay freeze and at least provide all federal employees with the same 3.8% pay raise going to law enforcement officers. Even better, Congress should pass the 4.1% pay raise called for under the Federal Adjustment of Incomes Rates (FAIR) Act, they wrote.
“The federal government must recruit and retain skilled employees to care for our veterans, protect our national security, inspect our food and medicine, conduct lifesaving research, process benefits, secure federal networks, and perform countless other critical functions. If competitive compensation is necessary to recruit and retain qualified federal law enforcement officers, it is also necessary to recruit and retain qualified employees throughout the federal government,” the letter said.
The pay raise push is being led by lawmakers who launched the Federal Workforce Caucus in February, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Reps. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
Any action by Congress won’t occur until after Election Day, when lawmakers will return to Washington with an immediate mandate to pass legislation keeping the federal government funded past Dec. 11, when the current continuing resolution expires.
Congress has approved none of the 12 appropriations bills for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, so they will need to either pass the budget bills before funding runs out on Dec. 11 or extend funding yet again to avoid a shutdown.
Efforts to overturn President Trump’s pay freeze and provide all federal employees with a cost-of-living increase next year are building steam on Capitol Hill ahead of crucial budget negotiations set to resume after the midterm elections in November.
Read More
AFGE and other unions who challenged the Trump administration’s illegal mass firing of federal workers during the 2025 government shutdown have reached a settlement agreement in the case that formally ends the termination effort.
Read More
AFGE is urging lawmakers to support new bipartisan legislation that is needed to address persistent shortages of federal workers who are critical to ensuring the safety of our nation’s railroads.
Read More
