House appropriators omit civilian federal pay raise from 2027 spending bill

The prospects of a civilian federal pay raise next year are continuing to diminish, after House appropriators made no mention of a pay increase in their 2027 spending legislation.

The House Appropriations Committee’s financial services and general government (FSGG) bill for fiscal 2027, which advanced along party lines Wednesday evening, says nothing on funding for a civilian pay raise. Although not yet final, that increases the chances federal employees will miss out on a salary increase next year.

The House’s GOP-led spending legislation aligns with the Trump administration’s lack of a civilian pay raise in its 2027 budget request, which the White House published earlier this month.

The omission of a civilian raise contrasts with the White House’s proposed 5-7% raise for military members next year. The House committee’s defense appropriations legislation, which would contain any congressional plans for a military raise, has not yet been released.

House appropriators have spent the last two days marking up 2027 spending legislation and considering a wide range of amendments to the FSGG bill.

During the markup, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government, proposed an amendment to include a 3.1% pay raise for civilian federal employees in 2027. Hoyer argued that pay for civilian workers should be more in line with what military members are likely to receive next year.

“For the overwhelming majority of time over the last 30 years, we have had parity between the military and the civilians,” Hoyer said Tuesday. “I would hope that we could again get back to a place where we are treating people who are doing equal things equally.”

“We’re not providing them the basic cost-of-living increases that would help to attract and maintain that kind of talent,” Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) said in support of Hoyer’s amendment. “We need to do it — otherwise, we’re going to have a real problem on our hands in the very near future.”

The Democrats’ pay raise amendment ultimately failed in a vote of 28-32 along party lines.

There is still time, however, for potential alternatives for a federal pay raise. In most years, the government’s plans for a salary increase are not set in stone until December. Before then, it’s still possible, though perhaps unlikely, to see a difference in an alternative pay plan in August, or through other legislation from lawmakers over the coming months.

For 2026, most but not all civilian federal employees received a 1% pay raise. Federal law enforcement personnel saw a larger 3.8% raise, in line with the military’s 2026 pay increase.

Spending priorities in House bill

More broadly, the House’s 2027 FSGG spending bill tees up a total of $25.3 billion in discretionary funding across agencies including the Treasury Department, Office of Personnel Management and General Services Administration, among several others.

The $25.3 billion in FSGG spending represents a 3.8% across-the-board budget decrease, or $1 billion less than enacted 2026 spending levels. Republican committee leaders said the 2027 bill “restores fiscal sanity and protects taxpayer dollars.”

“The bill supports the president’s goals of promoting fiscal responsibility, ending divisive social policies, strengthening national security and leveraging technology to ensure the federal government is working smarter, faster and more efficiently,” House Republicans wrote in a bill report.

The 2027 spending legislation includes $418 million for OPM, in line with the agency’s currently enacted spending levels. That’s higher than the White House’s proposed OPM budget of $375 million.

The Republican-led committee included $12 billion for Treasury, marking an 8.3% or $1.1 billion decrease from the department’s 2026 enacted funding. It’s a less severe decrease than the Trump administration’s proposed $1.5 billion cut for Treasury in 2027.

GSA’s Federal Buildings Fund would receive $9.74 billion under the House committee bill — an increase of $49 million above the current enacted spending level. That includes $983 million for spending on repairs and alterations, and $166 million for construction. The Public Buildings Reform Board would receive a flat budget of $3.6 million.

The committee included $971 million for discretionary spending at the Small Business Administration, representing a 22% cut, or $279 million below current enacted spending levels. In contrast, the White House proposed a much steeper 67% spending cut for SBA, requesting a budget of $329 million.

The legislation included many additional provisions aligning with priorities of the Trump administration. One provision would bar training or implementation of any diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. Another would require agencies “to use official time in an honest effort to perform official duties.”

Another new policy rider would codify a ban on gender-affirming care coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. If implemented, the bill would make permanent OPM’s current prohibition on gender-affirming benefits through FEHB. The bill also maintains a longstanding policy rider banning most abortion coverage through FEHB.

The FSGG bill also contained policy riders impacting federal workforce operations. The proposed budget for OPM, in part, is expected to fund ongoing initiatives to modernize the government’s HR technology systems.

In a bill report, committee leaders expressed support for OPM’s goal of consolidating the government’s disparate HR IT systems. If the legislation is approved, OPM would be required to report to the committee within 90 days to provide information on HR data migration plans and “change management” strategies, as well as details on the funding and timeline for fully modernizing the government’s HR management systems.

The legislation encouraged OPM to continue plans to reduce the costs of managing “antiquated” federal HR platforms, which cost the government more than $1 billion annually to operate, according to the committee.

“OPM is encouraged to use their existing transfer authority, as well as funds made available, to prioritize the safe and effective transition of these HR platforms to a central system over the next 18 months,” the committee wrote.

If enacted, the FSGG spending bill would also require OPM to report to the committee describing plans for reforming federal hiring and vetting processes, as well as industry outreach in recruitment. That report would have to include details on “the real-world, industry experience of federal employees at agencies.”

“The committee also encourages OPM to include recommendations that would allow OPM to better attract candidates with greater industry knowledge,” lawmakers wrote.

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email drew.friedman@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at drewfriedman.11

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