Analysts at the Government Accountability Office voted overwhelmingly Friday to approve an agreement with agency management on pay raises this year.

[IMGCAP(1)]Almost 98 percent of 1,205 employees voted for an agreement that guarantees at least a 4.49 percent raise to all employees who get a “meets expectations” performance rating. If analysts score high on the performance review, they could get much more.

The agreement is a first for the GAO’s new union, which was formed last fall amid anger over Comptroller General David Walker’s market-based pay system. Under the system, hundreds of employees didn’t get cost-of-living allowances in 2006 and 2007.

Almost Whole Again. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) hopes to appoint two new Republican Members to the House Page Board later this month.

The board has been without GOP members since Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) resigned in December and publicly complained that the page program was flawed and improperly managed.

Boehner held off on replacing the Members until their concerns were addressed. At Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Boehner’s request, the House Inspector General wrote a report that recommended new visitor policies for the adult supervisors at the page dorm and the creation of a Deputy Clerk of the House to oversee day-to-day operations. The page board voted last week to carry out those recommendations.

— Emily Yehle