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Appropriations Bill Provides COLA for Hourly Federal Workers

January 14, 2014

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations announced a bipartisan omnibus that funds the government for fiscal year 2014. Cole praised inclusion of the provision that ensures federal workers earning an hourly wage will receive the same cost of living adjustment as all other federal workers for 2014.

The legislation sets forth a 1 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for hourly federal employees in 2014. There are more than 174,000 workers in the Defense Department; 7,634 are based in Oklahoma alone. Most hourly federal workers are employed at Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City and the U.S. Army Ammunitions Plant in McAlester, but employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Bureau of Prisons are also impacted.

"We depend greatly on federal employees who work for hourly wages," said Cole. "Like in Oklahoma, many of my colleagues have a large number of federal workers in their state and district, and I was pleased that we could work together in a bipartisan manner.

"There are thousands of hourly workers serving with great dedication in our state. Due to furloughs caused by sequestration last year and more recently by the government shutdown in October, hourly personnel have suffered a great deal.

"I am pleased to see this provision included in the omnibus. It rightfully recognizes the important support hourly workers provide, like salaried, and provides them the same COLA as all other federal workers, which has been the case since 1979."

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Issues:Healthcare