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Skriven 2006-11-30 23:31:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (061130h) for Thu, 2006 Nov 30
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Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President of the Senate
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 30, 2006

Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President of the Senate



November 30, 2006

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

I am transmitting an alternative plan for locality pay increases payable to
civilian Federal employees covered by the General Schedule (GS) and certain
other pay systems in January 2007.

Under title 5, United States Code, civilian Federal employees covered by
the GS and certain other pay systems would receive a two-part pay increase
in January 2007: (1) a 1.7 percent across-the-board adjustment in scheduled
rates of basic pay derived from Employment Cost Index data on changes in
the wages and salaries of private industry workers, and (2) a 6.9 percent
locality pay adjustment based on Bureau of Labor Statistics' salary surveys
of non-Federal employers in each locality pay area. According to the
statutory formula, for Federal employees covered by the locality pay
system, the overall average pay increase would be about 8.6 percent. The
total Federal employee pay increase would cost about $8.8 billion in fiscal
year 2007 alone.

Title 5, United States Code, authorizes me to implement an alternative
locality pay plan if I view the adjustment that would otherwise take effect
as inappropriate due to "national emergency or serious economic conditions
affecting the general welfare." For the reasons described below, I have
determined that it would be appropriate to exercise my statutory
alternative plan authority to set an alternative January 2007 locality pay
increase.

A national emergency, within the meaning of chapter 53 of title 5, has
existed since September 11, 2001, that includes Operation Enduring Freedom
in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The growth in Federal
requirements is straining the Federal budget. Full statutory civilian pay
increases costing $8.8 billion in 2007 alone would interfere with our
Nation's ability to pursue the war on terrorism.

Such cost increases would threaten our efforts against terrorism or force
deep cuts in discretionary spending or Federal employment to stay within
budget. Neither outcome is acceptable. Therefore, I have determined that a
locality pay increase of 0.5 percent would be appropriate for GS and
certain other employees in January 2007. Our national situation precludes
granting larger locality pay increases at this time.

Accordingly, I have determined that under the authority of section 5304a of
title 5, United States Code, locality-based comparability payments for the
locality pay areas in amounts set forth in the attached table shall become
effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on
or after January 1, 2007. When compared with the payments currently in
effect, these comparability payments will increase the General Schedule
payroll by 0.5 percent.

Finally, the law requires that I include in this report an assessment of
the impact of my decision on the Government's ability to recruit and retain
well-qualified employees. I do not believe this decision will materially
affect our ability to continue to attract and retain a quality Federal
workforce. To the contrary, since any pay raise above what I have proposed
would likely be unfunded, agencies would have to absorb the additional cost
and could have to freeze hiring in order to pay the higher rates. Moreover,
GS "quit" rates continue to be very low (2.0 percent on an annual basis),
well below the overall average "quit" rate in private enterprise. Should
the need arise, the Government has many compensation tools, such as
recruitment bonuses, retention allowances, and special salary rates, to
maintain the high quality workforce that serves our Nation so very well.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

# # # 2007 Locality-Based Comparability Payments Under Alternative Plan
Locality Pay Area
Locality Payment
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL
15.89%
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH-ME-RI
20.97
Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY
14.15
Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI
21.79
Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN
17.38
Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH
15.96
Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH
15.00
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
17.34
Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH
14.27
Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO
20.02
Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI
21.53
Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT-MA
22.44
Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX
26.65
Huntsville-Decatur, AL
13.60
Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN
13.00
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA
24.03
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL
18.30
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI
15.54
Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI
18.17
New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA
24.57
Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD
18.85
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
13.22
Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA
14.16
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
17.63
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC
16.18
Richmond, VA
14.41
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV
18.99
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
20.34
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
30.33
Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA
18.58
Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-PA-VA-WV
18.59
Rest of U.S.
12.64
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