Are you a federal employee making over $100,000 per year? If so, legislation introduced recently could have a big impact on your paycheck should it become law.
Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) has introduced the Promoting Accountability In Decisions (PAID) for Progress Act (H.R. 1137). This legislation would reduce the salaries of federal workers making more than $100,000 by 8.7 percent until the economy recovers to pre-recession levels. This pay cut would also apply to Members of Congress and the president.
Pay of federal employees would be tied to increases in the real median household income thereafter, and members of Congress would be given raises that are dependent on changes in the same index since being sworn into office.
How many federal workers might such legislation impact? As we reported recently, there are 308,734 federal employees who make over $100,000 per year as of fiscal year 2014, according to the latest available data from FedsDataCenter.com. While this number has gone down in recent years, legislation targeting this level of income earners within the federal workforce would be significant.
“When the economy tanked, middle-class families and mid-level American workers were hit the hardest,” said Congressman Rice. “Government regulations have restricted recovery, causing every day expenses like gas, groceries, and electricity to eat up families’ budgets. Meanwhile, the federal bureaucrats making these decisions and imposing regulations, are taking home six-figure salaries.”
“The PAID for Progress Act would cut regulators’ salaries until the economy recovers, giving them an incentive to get government out of the way so the free market system can work,” Rice continued. “When take-home pay for everyday Americans returns to pre-2007 levels, so will federal government salaries.”
