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Congress·In Committee·S. 126

Congress Proposes 2026 Pay Raise for Federal Workers, Including 3.3% Base Pay Increase and 1% Locality Boost

FAIR Act

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov
⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

Senate
House
President
Law

Key Points

  • Would raise base pay for many federal employees by 3.3% in calendar year 2026.
  • Would also raise pay for federal “prevailing rate” (wage-grade) workers by 3.3% for fiscal year 2026.
  • Adds a 1% increase to locality pay in 2026, which affects pay based on where you work.
  • If passed, this would increase federal payroll costs and take-home pay for eligible federal workers.
  • Main impact is on federal employees and their families; it does not change private-sector wages directly.
Labor EmploymentEconomy

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(1)
Retiree
Neutral
Positive Impacts(1)
Federal Employee
Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Jan 16, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced in Senate

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Start of calendar year 2026 (when 2026 pay rates take effect)

If Congress passes the bill, 2026 federal base pay tables are increased by 3.3%.

Covered federal employees would see higher base pay starting in 2026, increasing regular paychecks and possibly overtime rates tied to base pay.

Start of calendar year 2026

If Congress passes the bill, locality pay percentages rise by an additional 1% for 2026.

Federal employees in higher-cost areas would typically see a slightly larger total raise because locality pay stacks on top of base pay.

Related Bills

2 bills
H.R. 7480Related bill

FAIR Act

Feb 10 — Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

H.R. 493Identical bill

FAIR Act

Sep 16 — ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 493, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

FAIR Act

Bill NumberS 126
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(16)
D: 15I: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.