On Tuesday, January 1, 2013, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. ___, the Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility Act. The bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on January 1, 2013 and will be considered under a suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for approval.

The bill maintains the current pay freeze for all civilian employees of the federal government through calendar year 2013.

On December 27, 2012, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order rescinding the federal employee pay freeze effective March 27, 2013, the date which the current continuing resolution expires. The Executive Order provides for a new pay schedule which includes a .05% pay raise beginning on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning after March 27, 2013.

In December 2010, the House approved H.R. 3082, the Continuing Appropriations and Surface Transportation Extensions Act, which froze pay for federal agency employees (except military personnel) for two years, from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012. In addition, Congress has blocked pay increases for Members since 2009. The current Continuing Resolution (H.J.Res. 117) extended the pay freeze for both until March 27.

In addition, the House passed legislation last year that would have continued the pay freeze for the entirety of 2013 in order to offset the deficit impact of the extension of the payroll tax holiday. The House-passed version of H.R. 3630 would extend the current freeze on statutory pay adjustments for federal employees for one year, through December 31, 2013. The House-passed version of H.R. 3630 would reduce the discretionary spending limits enacted under the BCA to achieve these savings. The CBO estimated that the provisions related to discretionary spending in the House-passed versions of H.R. 3630 would reduce spending by $26.2 billion over 2011 through 2021 budget window.

No CBO cost estimate was available at the time of print.