William R. Dougan, National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees had some harsh words for Senator Bob Corker’s fiscal cliff plan, which includes a number of cuts aimed at the federal workforce if it were to be enacted.
Dougan’s statement, issued today:
A problem as serious as the fiscal cliff deserves serious solutions, and Sen. Corker’s proposal sadly falls short of that mark. Though his proposal contains many promising provisions such as capping tax deductions and means-testing entitlements, the remainder reads like a greatest hits album of anti-federal employee policies. Under Sen. Corker’s proposal federal workers would pay more for healthcare, more for retirement, and do it all on a smaller paycheck – that is, if they still have a job.
A shared crisis calls for shared sacrifice, and federal employees are the only group to step up to the plate thus far and pay their share. Federal employees have already sacrificed $103 billion in cuts to their pay and retirement to help our nation get its fiscal house in order. Calling on middle class federal workers to sacrifice another $397 billion in cuts while refusing to ask for even a dime of increase in marginal tax rates on the wealthiest among us is simply inexcusable. Federal employees are struggling just like everyone else in this economy – they simply cannot afford deeper cuts.
My message to Senator Corker is this: The path to a sustainable fiscal course can’t be found inside the federal employee wallet. Do the right thing for our nation’s middle class, and put a stop to the unfair attacks on federal workers and their families.
