House Democrats Want Pay Raise for Federal Employees

A resolution has been introduced in the House in support of the federal workforce.

The resolution (H.Res. 388) was introduced by Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and has 39 co-sponsors (at the time of this writing), all of whom are Democrats.

The language of the resolution notes that federal employees have been hit in the last few years in several areas, namely a pay freeze, proposals for increased contributions for retirement benefits, furloughs, and small proposed pay increases. Consequently, the Democrats supporting the measure want to make sure get better treatment from the House of Representatives.

The resolution proposes the following:

1. Congress and the President should end the pay freeze for Federal employees, and should prevent any further cuts to the pensions or benefits of Federal employees;
2. Federal employee contributions to their retirement system should not be increased;
3. the annuity multiplier used to determine retirement benefits for Federal employees should not be decreased;
4. the Federal Employees Retirement System annuity supplement should not be eliminated, and Federal employees who are eligible to retire should be able to do so;
5. plans for Social Security reform should not include using a Chained Consumer Price Index, which would reduce Federal annuities;
6. the number of Federal employees hired should not be arbitrarily limited;
7. neither current nor future Federal employees should be subject to automatic termination as a result of delinquent taxes;
8. Federal agencies should be allowed to determine the hiring strategies that best meet their needs, rather than operating under an arbitrary, across-the-board hiring policy;
9. the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program should not be turned into a voucher program that shifts the costs of health insurance to employees and retirees;
10. the tax increase on new Federal employees that funds part of the extension of the unemployment insurance program administered by the Department of Labor should be repealed;
11. the work that Federal employees perform on behalf of the American people should be honored and respected; and
12. Congress should recognize that efforts to reduce the compensation and support provided to Federal employees undermine our Government’s ability to meet its obligations to its citizens and hurt Federal agencies’ ability to recruit and retain a high-quality workforce.