Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate agreed to a 4.6 percent raise for civilians in 2002, keeping the tradition of pay parity between military and federal civilians alive.

The proposed raise, a part of the 2002 Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, will now go to the floors of both the House and Senate for final approval and then on to the president for his signature.

"A fair and competitive pay increase is absolutely critical in helping recruit and retain the quality employees the public needs in government service," said National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley. "And the 4.6 percent raise will continue almost two decades of pay parity between military and civilians."

In February, the Bush administration proposed a 3.6 percent average raise for federal workers and a 4.6 percent across-the-board military raise with additional targeted raises that would boost increases to between 5 and 10 percent for service members, depending on their rank.

That didn’t set well with the national organizations that represent civilian employees, who immediately put pressure on local representatives to "keep the parity in place."

"Military and civilian raises have been equal in 17 of the last 20 years," said Michael Styles, national president of the Federal Managers Association. "It’s an important tool to show federal employees that the government acknowledges and appreciates their work."

White House officials said Monday that the president is not expected to veto the bill.