Federal pay has been frozen since December 2010, when Congress signed off on an Obama administration proposal to freeze federal worker pay for two years in the name of deficit reduction.
The administration is expected to release its new budget in February, and any proposed increase in federal pay will require the approval of Congress.
Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, expressed disappointment at the size of the raise."The good news is that the pay freeze is ending, but I am disappointed at the size of the proposed 2013 increase," Kelley said in a statement.
Esperanza is a young worker who says he's just happy to have a job in this economy, and he'll take the raise if Congress approves."It's always good to get a bigger increase," he said. "But it's frustrating because there are a lot of other things that could be cut out and are wasteful."
During the freeze, federal workers remained eligible for bonuses as well as promotions along the federal step ladder system. Those promotions are based on job performance and time spent in the position.
When he first proposed the freeze, Obama said the cut was the first of many.
"The hard truth is that getting this deficit under control is going to require some broad sacrifice," Obama said. "And that sacrifice must be shared by the employees of the federal government."
"Although we would have preferred a larger increase as prescribed by law, it is nonetheless a welcome development that the magnitude of federal employees' sacrifice in recent years is being acknowledged," William Dougan, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, said in a statement.
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