Congressman Gerry Connolly yesterday urged President Obama and House Budget Committee Chair John Spratt to include pay parity for federal employees and military personnel in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget.

In separate letters to Obama and Spratt, Connolly, a member of the House Budget Committee, pointed out the disparity between the civilian and military pay raises included in the Obama administration’s budget proposal.  Connolly said he was prepared to work with the administration to rectify the matter and he plans to offer pay parity language during Budget Committee deliberations on the budget resolution.

Connolly personally delivered his letter to President Obama Tuesday when he visited the White House to discuss economic issues with the President, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, and other economic advisors.  Connolly’s letter to Spratt also was delivered yesterday.

In his letters, Connolly said, “It is my hope that we can work together to correct this disparity and recognize the important contributions to our nation provided by both our civilian and our military personnel.  Our military men and women have certainly distinguished themselves throughout history, and particularly during this time of war, but we cannot forget the critical role civilian employees play in providing logistical support and other vital services to our military, as well as their important work for the taxpayers on essential government functions and services.”

Connolly said, “Nearly every year for the past two decades, our government has adhered to the principle of pay parity,” adding that he believed there was bipartisan support in the 111th Congress to include pay parity in the final budget.”

Connolly also noted that the administration and Congress needed to be cognizant of demographic changes.  “Almost 40% of federal workers will be eligible for retirement this decade.  As a result, we need to make sure incentives exist to maintain our current federal workforce and attract the best and the brightest to federal service in the coming years,” he said.