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President Clinton proposed a 3.6 percent pay raise Thursday for federal workers in 1999 and said that, if Congress does not approve it, he would act by executive authority to make it happen.
The pay raise would apply to federal civilian employees and military personnel, or 6.6 million people, and would take effect in January.
Clinton said the increase essentially would allow federal pay to match the growth in private-sector wages.
He said that the government “operates more efficiently and better serves the American people” after his efforts to streamline it.
Clinton announced his intentions in a statement issued while vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard and before he returned to Washington later in the day.
