White House Releases Proposed Budget for FY 2023, 4.6% Pay Raise for Federal Employees
President Biden has announced a $5.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2023 that aims to give every Cabinet department a budget increase.
In the White House’s proposal, discretionary funds would amount to $1.6 trillion, including $813 billion for defense and $769 billion for domestic spending. In contrast, the FY 2022 omnibus spending bill (P.L. 117-103) included $782 billion for defense and $730 billion for domestic spending.
Commerce will see the largest department percentage increase in funding at 31 percent, rising the Department’s budget from $8.9 billion to $11.7 billion. Following closely behind the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would gain 29 percent from $111.1 billion to $135.2 billion in funding.
Under Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Justice Department has prioritized policies that deal with violent crime, civil rights, among other issues. The proposed budget of $37.7 billion provides funding to reform the criminal and juvenile justice systems; boost department cybersecurity; expand the staff of gun trafficking strike forces and the U.S. Marshals Service; to regulate the firearms industry; and to prosecute violent crimes at the federal level.
“Now, the women and men of the Justice Department will of course continue to do all they can with the resources provided to them, but to do their jobs, they need the resources that the President's Fiscal Year 2023 budget request provides,” stated Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in response to the proposal, “It renews our requests for the unfunded portions of the FY22 budget and provides much needed investments to keep our community safe by, among other things, funding more cops on the beat in our communities, fighting gun violence and investing in crime prevention and community violence intervention.”
Among the $813.3 billion national security request is the defense budget, which also includes the Department of Energy’s nuclear arsenal and the Federal Bureau of Investigations' (FBI) national security functions. The proposed $773 billion Defense Department budget hinges on an increase in spending on nuclear modernization and research and development, while cutting back on troops, and retiring aging ships and planes.
The Department of Homeland Security funding would see a 5.4 percent increase in funding compared with FY 2021 enacted levels, which agencies were using with some adjustments before passage of FY 2022 spending law this month. The department's discretionary funding of $56.7 billion would support counterterrorism, border security, and disaster preparedness and response efforts.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will receive a sizeable investment in pay equity, collective bargaining, and merit reward system protection, ensuring that their salaries are commensurate with those of other Federal Government employees.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program, aimed at preventing future attacks on places of worship following the Colleyville synagogue hostage-taking, would receive $360 million. The budget would also bolster U.S. Border Patrol staffing by 300 agents and decrease the size of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) detention capacity by 5,000 beds.
To prepare for future pandemics, the administration's proposed budget would provide health agencies with $81.7 billion in mandatory funding over five years. As part of its plan to increase disease countermeasures, the Biden Administration plans to set up a free vaccine program for adults without health insurance, modeled after the current program for children. It plans also to spend $975 million on boosting the nation's stockpile of medical supplies.
Also among the figures is a proposal to raise pay for federal civilian and military employees by 4.6 percent.
“If enacted, the 4.6 percent average pay increase would the largest since 2002. The amount tracks with recent increases in private-sector pay and the expected military pay increase for the second consecutive year,” stated Ken Thomas, National President of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE), “Keeping up with private-sector pay growth is essential to maintaining the federal government’s ability to recruit and retain a highly qualified and effective workforce.”
The administration’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) budget justification also includes several legislative proposals, including: critical position pay; critical skills incentive; increase to special rate limitation; new appointment pay setting; incentive awards authority increase; expansion of FEDVIP to tribal organizations and certain tribal employers, children up to age 26; expend Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) to tribal colleges and universities; and require coverage of three primary care visits and three behavioral health visits without cost-sharing.