Citing a state of national emergency that has existed since September 11, 2001, and exercising a presidential prerogative to restructure the pay of federal civilian employees in the event of "national emergency or serious economic conditions," George W. Bush announced Friday that he was limiting raises for federal workers to 3.1 percent. The decision contravenes attempts by both houses of Congress to hold with the long tradition of valuing civilian employees as highly as military employees, and grant them an overall increases matching the 4.1 percent that Mr. Bush has already approved for military personnel (see WIT for June 27, 2002). This latest in a series of blows to federal unions and the workers they represent, means that members of the FBI, CIA, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Department of Defense may be receiving smaller raises than their military counterparts, despite the ever-increasing emphasis on their importance to the country’s security.
