The Nation : 2% Federal Pay Rise Urged

President Reagan recommended that the federal government’s 1.3 million white-collar employees be given a 2% pay raise in January. If Congress accedes, the increase would cost about $1 billion. The average civil servant in the nation’s capital gets just over $32,000 a year. Away from Washington where the average Civil Service grade is lower, the typical employee earns $27,300. Top pay would rise to $88,416 a year, but because of a longstanding congressional cap on salaries, everyone in the upper pay brackets--Government Service Grades 17, Step 6 and above--is limited to $74,000.