Sponsors (13)
The bill raises pay for federal civilian employees in 2027—boosting earnings and aiding recruitment/retention—while increasing federal payroll costs and creating risks of local pay misalignment or added budgetary pressure if not offset.
All federal civilian employees will receive a 3.1% across-the-board pay increase for 2027, raising take-home pay and overall earnings.
Higher federal pay (the across-the-board raise plus locality and prevailing-rate increases) should improve recruitment and retention of government workers and support continuity of public services.
Prevailing‑rate (wage‑grade) employees get an immediate 3.1% increase for FY2027 without waiting for wage surveys, providing pay certainty and avoiding delays.
Taxpayers face higher near-term federal payroll costs because the pay adjustments increase federal personnel spending.
If enacted without offsets, the increases could add to federal budget pressures or deficits, modestly worsening fiscal conditions.
Waiving the wage survey for prevailing‑rate employees risks misaligning federal prevailing wages with local private‑sector pay in some areas, potentially causing local overpayments or underpayments.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Increases federal civilian basic pay and prevailing (wage‑grade) rates by 3.1% and raises locality pay adjustments by 1% for 2027, waiving the FY2027 wage survey requirement for prevailing rates.
Official title: Increase the rates of pay under the statutory pay systems and for prevailing rate employees by 4.1 percent, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by Brian Emanuel Schatz · Last progress February 10, 2026
Raises federal civilian pay for 2027 by increasing statutory basic pay and prevailing (wage‑grade) rates by 3.1 percent and boosting locality pay adjustments by an additional 1 percent for calendar year 2027 (with prevailing‑rate increases tied to fiscal year 2027). It also waives the usual wage survey requirement for setting prevailing‑rate increases for that year. The change directly increases gross pay for covered federal civilian employees (both statutory and wage‑grade) through higher base pay and slightly larger locality adjustments, with fiscal impact borne by federal agencies and ultimately funded through agency budgets and appropriations processes.