Senate Approves Spending Package With Pay Raise, Setting Up Fight With House

The Senate on Wednesday voted 92-6 to approve a $154.2 billion spending bill that includes a 2019 pay raise for civilian federal employees, setting up a conflict with the House and the Trump administration. The proposal to increase federal workers’ pay by 1.9 percent next year was included within a "minibus" appropriations bill (H.R. 6147) funding the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture Department, Housing and Urban Development Department, Transportation Department, and financial services and general government agencies for fiscal 2019. It survived more than a week of debate and negotiations by lawmakers on the Senate floor.  But the pay raise still faces headwinds. The Trump administration has proposed a pay freeze for all civilian federal workers for next year, and the House effectively endorsed the pay freeze in its version of the spending package.