This week, the United States Senate passed a 1.9% pay raise for federal employees in 2019. The measure was included in one of four appropriations bills passed Wednesday as a "minibus" legislation package, reports fedagent.com.

While the news will be a welcome development for most federal employees, and would match the raise feds received last year, the passage by the Senate does not guarantee the language's ultimate success, with President Trump having proposed a federal pay freeze for 2019 and prospects in the House of Representatives still uncertain, as the House's version of the same appropriations measure does not include a federal pay raise, so the issue would also need to be worked out in Congressional conference.

According to Nicole Ogrysko of Federal News, the final determination should be made by month's end.