FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brittany Holder
Phone: 202-216-4424
Washington, D.C. – Today, with a bipartisan deal to keep the government open through the next fiscal year being reached earlier this week, it appears that President Trump is set to sign the deal and avert what could have been another crisis for federal families. The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) continues to prepare for the possibility for another shutdown even if it seems rather unlikely currently.
“I am very pleased that Congress has reached a bipartisan agreement to keep the federal government open and funded through the end of the fiscal year,” stated NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “We are preparing for another shutdown. Until I see this spending bill signed by the president, we will continue those preparations.”
Included in the deal is a 1.9% pay adjustment for federal workers. While this number represents a minimum acceptable pay increase given current economic conditions, it will help to keep the 31% public-private sector pay gap from increasing. Some welcome news for federal employees who have had a very tough year so far. However; nothing is set in stone yet until the President puts his pen to the paper.
“The President has shown he can be supportive of a measure one day and opposed to it the next. With this spending bill, and all the political spotlight that is on it, we simply cannot count our chickens until they are hatched,” Erwin continued. “Federal workers and their families are still recovering financially from the devastating 34-day shutdown, with thousands of workers still waiting for backpay. The lingering effects of the last shutdown are still very real for those suffering families.”