Tuesday, House lawmakers issued a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI), requesting that the White House’s proposed two-year federal pay freeze be reconsidered.
In the letter, signed by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Donna F. Edwards (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), James P. Moran (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), John P. Sarbanes (D-MD) and Frank R. Wolf (R-VA), the bipartisan group requested that federal pay adjustments be handled on a year by year basis, as they are traditionally decided.
“Every day, federal employees provide vital services that help keep out nation healthy, safe, and strong,” they said. “We therefore believe that any adjustment to federal employee compensation should be reviewed on an annual basis.”
The letter indicates that the White House has already submitted legislative language for the freeze to be considered in the current Congress. The language includes the two-year pay freeze proposal, one that the bipartisan group believes is unfair and misguided.
“[W]e do not believe civil servants should be unfairly targeted outside the context of a comprehensive approach to the federal budget simply because they carry out the work of the federal government,” they said. “For these reasons, we ask that any proposed adjustments to federal pay beyond FY 2011 be reserved for the 112th Congress.”
NFFE has been a vocal opponent of the pay freeze from the moment it was announced, and will continue to fight for America’s dedicated civil servants.