Last night, in its appropriations measure to fund the government for FY 11, Congress voted in favor of a two-year federal pay freeze. The measure, identical to the version proposed by the White House last week, will freeze federal pay for two years government-wide. The pay freeze will now be considered in the Senate, where appropriators are currently working out budget details for their version. A vote on the Senate package is expected sometime next week.
Though the freeze is growing closer and closer to a reality, there is still time to convince your elected officials that this is a poor and misguided policy. Both Houses of Congress will have to come to agreement on a bill before they send the final version to the President’s desk. In the mean time, we must continue to fight back against this pay freeze.
As NFFE reported on last week, a two-year freeze on pay will hurt federal worker’s bottom lines, diminish their retirement annuities, and make it harder for the government to recruit and retain top talent at agencies providing vital services to the American people.
To learn more about what you can do to fight the freeze, click here.