Bush: federal workers should get pay hikes

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The White House will reportedly propose a 3.1 percent pay raise for military personnel and a 2.3 percent hike for civil servants in its fiscal 2006 budget.

The proposed raises, to be formally submitted Monday, would go to more than 2.3 million military members and about 1.8 million civilian workers, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

President Bush followed a formula set by Congress for the military pay hike, and his civil service raise is pegged to the administration's estimate of the inflation rate, the newspaper said.

However, with bonuses and performance raises added to the proposed pay hike, many civil servants will get raises comparable to those in the private sector, administration officials said.