[House Document 111-78]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 111-78
AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN FOR LOCALITY PAY INCREASES
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THEPRESIDENTOFTHEUNITEDSTATES
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 2010, PURSUANT TO 5 U.S.C. 5305(a)(3)
December 1, 2009.--Referred to the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform and ordered to be printed
The White House,
Washington, November 30, 2009.
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Speaker: I am transmitting an alternative plan
for locality pay increases for civilian Federal employees
covered by the General Schedule (GS) and certain other pay
systems in January 2010.
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 2010: (1) a 2.4
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)
locality pay adjustments averaging 16.5 percent 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 18.9 percent. This
total Federal employee pay increase would cost about $22.6
billion in fiscal year 2010 alone.
Title 5, United States Code, authorizes me to implement an
alternative pay plan if I view the adjustments that would
otherwise take effect as inappropriate due to ``national
emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general
welfare.'' As in August, when I submitted an alternative plan
under 5 U.S.C. 5303(b) to limit the across-the-board increase
in 2010 to 2.0 percent, I have determined that it is
appropriate to exercise my statutory alternative plan authority
under 5 U.S.C. 5304a to set alternative January 2010 locality
pay rates.
A national emergency, within the meaning of chapter 53 of
title 5, has existed since September 11, 2001. Likewise, our
country continues to face serious economic conditions affecting
the general welfare and most Americans would not understand or
accept that Federal employees should receive an average pay
increase of 18.9 percent while many of their fellow citizens
are facing employment cutbacks or unemployment. Such an
increase would cost $19.9 billion more than the 2.0 percent
overall Federal civilian pay increase that I proposed in my
2010 Budget and would build in later years.
Accordingly, I have determined that under the authority of
section 5304a of title 5, United States Code, the locality pay
percentages currently in effect as shown in the attachment
shall remain in effect in 2010.
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. As I
said in August, I do not believe this decision will materially
affect our ability to continue to attract and retain a quality
Federal workforce. Since any pay raise above the amount
proposed in this alternative plan would likely be unfunded,
agencies would have to absorb the additional cost and could
have to reduce hiring to pay the higher rates. Moreover, the GS
``quit'' rate continues to be very low (2.1 percent on an
annual basis), well below the overall average ``quit'' rate in
private enterprise.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama.
ALTERNATIVE PLAN FOR 2010 LOCALITY-BASED COMPARABILITY PAYMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Locality payment
Locality pay area (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL............. 18.55
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH-RI-ME............. 23.98
Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY...................... 16.39
Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI........... 24.47
Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN........... 18.28
Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH........................... 18.16
Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH...................... 16.62
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX................................ 19.95
Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.................... 15.90
Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO............................ 22.03
Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI............................. 23.56
Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT-MA............ 25.08
Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX....................... 28.28
Huntsville-Decatur, AL............................... 15.46
Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN................... 14.23
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA................. 26.51
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL.............. 20.21
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI........................ 17.65
Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI................ 20.36
New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA.............. 27.96
Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD............ 21.25
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ.......................... 16.08
Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA............................ 15.86
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA.................. 19.71
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC.............................. 17.38
Richmond, VA......................................... 16.10
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Yuba City, CA-NV........... 21.53
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.................... 23.44
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA................... 34.35
Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA........................... 21.06
Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV- 23.10
PA..................................................
Rest of U.S.......................................... 13.86
------------------------------------------------------------------------