Obama orders pay raise for military, fed workers

President Obama on Friday ordered a 1 percent across-the-board base pay increase for federal civilian workers and a 1.3 percent raise for members of the military in 2016.

For federal civilian workers, the president said he would decide by Nov. 30 whether to tack on locality payments that could potentially increase their pay raise to 1.3 percent.

The wage hikes will take effect on Jan. 1 unless Congress proposes an alternative.

Obama notified Capitol Hill about his decision in two separate letters sent to leadership on Friday afternoon.

{mosads}A spokeswoman at the Office of Management and Budget told The Hill that the initial 1 percent pay increase is the “first step toward implementing an aggregate 1.3 percent increase,” which Obama proposed in his budget blueprint earlier this year.

Obama does not need congressional approval to raise workers’ pay.

Congress, however, can pass legislation to establish its own pay plan at any point. Democrats in the House and Senate earlier this year proposed a 3.8 percent federal pay raise, but it is not expected go anywhere in the GOP-controlled Congress.

This is the third time Obama has ordered a pay increase during his presidency. During his first term, the president froze pay federal raises amid the recession.