Biden unveils 2.7 percent pay raise plan for federal employees

The White House formalized their bid for a 2.7 percent federal pay raise for federal public sector staff.

The letter written by President Biden was quoted by the Washington Post.

He told Congress: "I have determined that for 2022, the across-the-board base pay increase will be 2.2 percent and locality pay increases will average 0.5 percent, resulting in an overall average increase of 2.7 percent for civilian Federal employees."

The proposed pay raise would go into effect from January 1st of next year, onward (a copy of the letter is available in full here).

The move doesn’t come as a surprise, seeing as how President Biden brought up the 2.7 percent pay bump back at the end of May.

FedSmith.com has a yearly chart that outlines what federal pay raises were implemented on an annual basis.

Washington Post breaks down the nitty-gritty: the pay raise would be for the two million employees that work for the executive branch (minus the Post Office). It’s mentioned that Congress can approve a bigger pay raise among themselves if desired, and that decision supersedes Biden’s proposals.

Activist group Occupy Democrats were pleased at the news. They said Biden was "doing the right thing."

The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association also applauded Biden's announcement given former President Trump's position of attempting to "freeze" federal pay rates.

"With his proposed 2.7 percent average pay increase for the civil service, Biden is demonstrating respect for hard-working civil servants and the jobs they do, as well as a commitment to recruitment and retention of talented federal employees."