Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va., introduced legislation Jan. 25 that would increase federal civilian pay by 2.6 percent, in line with the pay increase granted to the military in fiscal year 2019 appropriations.

“For the past 35 days, President Trump and congressional Republicans have held federal employees and the American people they serve hostage,” said Hoyer in a news release. “This government shutdown is the latest in the long list of attacks on our hardworking federal civilian workforce. The Federal Civilian Workforce Pay Raise Fairness Act is an important step in treating federal employees with the respect they deserve and compensating them for the financial stress the Trump-McConnell shutdown has inflicted on them.”

President Donald Trump formally chose to freeze 2019 federal pay via an executive order at the end of last year, which Congress has the authority to override in legislation.

Multiple versions of government funding legislation included a 1.9 percent pay increase for federal employees, but none of those pieces of legislation were signed into law.

“Federal employees have dedicated their lives and careers in service to the American people,” said Connolly in a news release. “Yet far too often their sacrifice and dedication go unappreciated, met instead with insult and vitriol from the Oval Office. We must provide the entire federal workforce with a pay increase worthy of their selfless commitment to the betterment of the American public. The Federal Civilian Workforce Pay Raise Fairness Act reaffirms our conviction that public servants — civilian and military alike — deserve better than the shutdowns, furloughs, and pay freezes forced upon them by the Trump administration.”

The new legislation is co-sponsored by eight other Representatives from the Washington, D.C., area.