Federal Pay Freeze

The House will vote this week on a bill to extend the federal pay freeze another year. But this time, the freeze would also apply to congressional salaries. Federal employee unions have slammed the proposal. Colleen Kelly, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, says the bill presents a political Hobson's Choice. To lift the federal employee freeze, lawmakers must vote themselves a raise. The bill was introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.). Its vote occurs under rules usually reserved for routine proclamations.The White House has proposed a 0.5 percent raise for federal workers in 2013.