As the holiday the season draws nearer, it looks like there will be little to be cheerful about for federal employees watching Congress.
On Thursday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform approved H.R. 3029, a bill that would reduce the federal workforce by 200,000 jobs by 2015. It would do so by replacing one federal employee for every three who retire, separate, or otherwise depart from the government.
Bah humbug is right. True, this measure is just one of many anti-federal worker bills to be considered in the House as of late; but what makes this different is that it took a vital leap toward becoming law by achieving committee approval. Whereas others have merely been proposed, touted, and dangled in the media spotlight, this measure succeeded in passing a full committee vote, with 24 voting for and 14 against. This means that the bill will now go before the full House of Representatives for a vote (though no date has been set as of this writing) where it could take yet another important step in becoming law.
“This is a serious proposal that has more support in Congress than some think,” said NFFE Legislative Director Randy Erwin. “We can’t be complacent and assume this is merely political theatre. This proposal could spell disaster for hundreds of thousands of federal workers and their families. We can’t allow this harmful piece of legislation to pass into law.”
The only way that this bill will be stopped is if federal workers take things into their own hands and let Congress know that they will not take this laying down. Visit our Legislative Action Center to see what you can do fight back.