Senator Paul Sarbanes (Democrat of Maryland) submitted the first concurrent Senate resolution of the 108th Congress by co-sponsoring a bill calling for parity in the wage increases for civilian and military personnel.

Sarbanes submitted Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 (S. Con. Res. 1) January 9, and Senator John Warner (Republican of Virginia) was one of the resolution's twelve co-sponsors.

S. Con. Res. 1 was then referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee for consideration.

President Bush, Sarbanes said, "gave a 4.1 percent pay raise to members of the armed services, but only a 3.1 percent pay raise to our dedicated public servants."

"This disparity in pay adjustments goes against the longstanding policy of parity for all those who have chosen to serve the United States," according to S. Con. Res. 1.

The proposed resolution would make it a Sense of Congress that, "There should continue to be parity between the adjustments in the compensation of members of the uniformed services and the adjustments in the compensation of civilian employees of the United States."

"Members of the armed services and civilian Federal employees are fighting the war on terrorism and making remarkable contributions to the safety of this country and our citizens," Sarbanes said in introducing the resolution.

"Both the armed forces and civilian employees are on the front lines in the fight against terrorism, and civilian employees are playing a significant role in that fight," he added.

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT THERE SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE PARITY BETWEEN THE ADJUSTMENTS IN THE COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES AND THE ADJUSTMENTS IN THE COMPENSATION OF CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED STATES

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Levin, Mr. Warner, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Lieberman) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs:

S. Con. Res. 1

Whereas members of the uniformed services of the United States and civilian employees of the United States make significant contributions to the general welfare of the United States and are on the front lines in the fight against terrorism;

Whereas civilian employees of the United States play a crucial role in the fight against terrorism, as exemplified by the civilian employees of the new Department of Homeland Security who are working to ensure the security of the United States, the civilian employees of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who are investigating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and working to prevent further terrorist attacks, the numerous civilian employees of the Federal Government who participated in disaster response teams after such attacks, and the civilian employees of the Transportation Security Agency who are working to make our skies safer;

Whereas civilian employees of the United States will continue to support and defend the United States during this difficult time;

Whereas for fiscal year 2003 the Administration granted a 4.1 percent pay raise for members of the uniformed services but only a 3.1 percent pay raise for the dedicated civilian employees of the United States, a disparity in adjustments that violates the traditional principle of parity of pay adjustments; and

Whereas this disparity in pay adjustments goes against the longstanding policy of parity for all those who have chosen to serve the United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that there should continue to be parity between the adjustments in the compensation of members of the uniformed services and the adjustments in the compensation of civilian employees of the United States.

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I am called to join with Senators AKAKA, BINGAMAN, CANTWELL, CLINTON, DURBIN, KENNEDY, LEVIN, LIEBERMAN, MIKULSKI, MURRAY, NELSON, E. BENJAMIN, and WARNER in introducing a resolution that would express the sense of the Congress that parity in the pay increases granted to Federal civilian and military employees should be maintained. A comparison of military and civilian pay increases by the Congressional Research Service finds that in 14 of the last 17 years military and civilian pay increases have been identical. Disparate treatment of civilian and military pay goes against the longstanding policy of parity for all those who have chosen to serve our Nation, whether that service be in the civilian workforce or in the armed services.

During this unprecedented time in our Nation's history, both members of the armed services and civilian Federal employees are fighting the war on terrorism and making remarkable contributions to the safety of this country and our citizens. Both the armed forces and civilian employees are on the front lines in the fight against terrorism, and civilian employees are playing a significant role in that fight.

For example, civilian employees of the new Department of Homeland Security are working to ensure the safety of our Nation. Air marshals and members of the Transportation Security Agency are making America's skies safer. Civilian employees of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the events of September 11th and working to prevent further terrorist attacks. And Federal employees at the State Department are working with other countries in an international coalition against terrorism.

In addition, there are numerous Federal employees who participated in disaster response teams on September 11th and during the anthrax attacks. And every day, thousands of civilian Federal employees continue to go to work and carry out their responsibilities in this unpredictable time.

This Senate Concurrent Resolution expresses the sense of the Congress that parity between the adjustments in Federal civilian pay and military pay should be maintained. For Fiscal Year 2003, President Bush gave a 4.1 percent pay raise to members of the armed services, but only a 3.1 percent pay raise to our dedicated public servants. This discrepancy violates the traditional principle of pay parity, and does not recognize the crucial work of the civilian Federal workforce. Furthermore, this discrepancy ignores the express wish of Congress that the principle of pay parity be followed. Past budget resolutions and Treasury-Postal appropriations bills approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives have included language expressing the ``sense of Congress that rates of compensation for civilian employees of the United States should be adjusted at the same time, and in the same proportion, as are rates of compensation for member of the uniformed services.''

In this difficult time, the dedication and commitment of both the armed services and our civilian employees demonstrate the greatness of our Nation. The contribution of both should be recognized.