2. House approves 4.6 percent pay raise The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to give civilian federal employees a 4.6 percent average pay raise next year. On a 334-94 vote, the House passed the $32.7 billion fiscal 2002 Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, (H.R. 2590), which contained language approving the raise. Earlier this week, the Bush administration issued a statement opposing the 4.6 percent increase, arguing that it "would divert critical resources from programs across the government." The administration proposed a 3.6 percent raise for civilian federal employees in its fiscal 2002 budget. Bush has proposed an across-the-board 4.6 percent military raise along with additional targeted raises that would boost increases to between 5 percent and 10 percent for service members, depending on their rank. "I remain hopeful that the administration will drop its insistence on a lower raise for federal workers," Rep. James Moran, D-Va., said in a statement. Military and civilian raises have been equal in 17 of the last 20 years. Click here for related stories and links: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0701/072601pay.htm ________________________________________________________________