National President Dougan Decries Political Wrangling Over Fiscal Cliff, Impact on Feds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Cory Bythrow, Communications Director

Phone: (202) 255-9950

In response to a recent Office of Management and Budget memo and continuing negotiations over the “fiscal cliff,” National Federation of Federal Employees National President William R. Dougan issued the following statement:

“We’d like to thank the Administration for keeping employees and their representatives informed on this matter. Robust communication and involvement in this process will be critical in keeping our workforce informed. The real issue here, however, is not words, but the actions our elected leaders take in the coming days and weeks.

Millions of federal employees across America do not know whether they will have a steady job, a reliable retirement, and fair pay to come back to when all is said and done with the fiscal cliff negotiations. It is critical that our lawmakers appreciate the gravity of this situation for federal employees and their families all across America. Sequestration could result in furloughs, RIF’s, hiring freezes, or some combination of the three as agencies look to fill gaping holes in their already-strained budgets. Federal employees are not a line item on a budget – they are real people with families to feed and bills to pay. Federal workers cannot be forced to continue picking up the tab for Washington’s fiscal mistakes.

Federal employees deserve a solution to the fiscal cliff; one that recognizes the $103 billion in pay and retirement cuts they have already sacrificed toward deficit reduction. Federal employees have done their share, averaging $50,000 per federal employee over the next decade.  For federal employees who are struggling to make ends meet, that sacrifice is real. We can’t balance the budget on the backs of our federal workers alone- we need real shared sacrifice.”

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