The White House’s 2013 budget proposal will include a pay raise for federal workers. The proposed 0.5 percent raise would be the first since President Barack Obama instituted a pay freeze in 2010, sources tell The Washington Post’s Federal Eye blog.

The proposal would face an uncertain future as Republican members of Congress and presidential candidates have called for continuing the pay freeze for at least another year, with some calling for the extension as a way to pay for the payroll tax extension.

A senior administration official told the Post that “a permanent pay freeze is not an acceptable policy. While modest, a 0.5 percent increase reflects the belt-tightening we must do in these difficult times.”

The pay raise is for the nation’s 2 million civilian federal employees and does not include the armed forces. Officials said no decision has been made on a pay hike for members of the military. The formal budget proposal, which would trim the budget by $2 billion in 2013, is expected to be unveiled in February, the Post reported.