[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
commemorating National Public Service Recognition Week. I spoke earlier 
tonight of teachers. This more general recognition week was established 
in 1986. It is a week of national effort to educate and inform 
Americans about the range and quality of services provided by our 
public employees on the Federal, State, and local level.
  As part of the national recognition effort, this weekend down on the 
Mall there are scores of exhibits that allow everyone to explore and 
learn more about the important work our civil servants perform across 
the country. I encourage any who can to attend.
  Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to have this opportunity to 
pay tribute to the hundreds of thousands of hardworking civil servants 
across the country, many of whom devote their entire careers to serving 
others and strengthening this great Nation.
  At the outset I would like to commend the efforts of my friend, the 
gentleman from Baltimore, MD, Mr. Elijah Cummings, the new ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Civil Service. I would also like to thank 
the members the Bipartisan Federal Government Task Force, which I 
cochair, for continuing to fight for the hardworking Federal employees.
  Mr. Speaker, in describing our Nation's civil servants, President 
Clinton recently noted, and I quote, ``Each day in schools and offices 
across the country, in hospitals, parks, museums, and on military 
installations, America's public employees dedicate their time, energy, 
and talent to create a brighter future for their fellow citizens and 
for our Nation.''
  I could not agree with the President more. Of course, I hold a 
special affinity for our Nation's Federal work force. I represent 
thousands of Federal employees and retirees. I have worked hard to 
protect and preserve their pay and benefits over the years. Mr. 
Speaker, I will continue to do so.
  Last Friday, I joined President Clinton to announce the balanced 
budget deal at a press conference in Baltimore. While it is not the 
deal that I would have written, I am pleased that the final package 
will apparently not contain a delay in cost of living adjustments for 
Federal retirees or require Federal employees to pay a higher 
percentage of the overall contribution to their health benefit package. 
I hope that ends up being in the agreement. We are working toward that 
end.
  Over the last 20 years the Federal work force, Mr. Speaker, has lost 
an estimated $220 billion in pay and benefits to which it was entitled 
under law existing in 1980.

                              {time}  1830

  Let me repeat that for those who are listening. We have a budget 
deficit. The Federal work force has contributed mightily to solving 
that deficit by facing changes in law affecting their pay and benefits 
to the extent that they have received in pay and benefits $220 billion 
less over the last 17 years than they would have if the law had not 
been changed.
  We must remain vigilant to ensure that we do not single out our 
Federal employees for cuts to pay and benefits. We must not balance the 
budget on the backs of hard-working Americans, hard-working Americans 
who work for the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, all too often some paint a picture of our public 
servants as incompetent, uncaring paper pushers. At times we even 
vilify our hard-working Government employees, sometimes with tragic 
results.
  Mr. Speaker, last month we paid tribute to the men and women who lost 
their lives in the tragic Oklahoma City bombing. The majority of these 
people, the overwhelming majority were hard-working Federal employees. 
They were not nameless, faceless, presumably defenseless bureaucrats, 
as some would say.
  Let me be perfectly clear and to the point. I get angry, and I hope 
many Members in this House do, over those who would denigrate our civil 
servants. All too often it is the prevailing habit of this body to 
attack the character and devotion of our Federal employees, even our 
own.
  Mr. Speaker, we must stop the senseless scapegoating and needless 
bashing of our civil servants. Federal employees play an integral, 
albeit often invisible, role in our daily lives. Federal employees make 
sure that our senior citizens get their monthly Social Security checks 
and that our veterans get the care and treatment they need. Federal 
employees are responsible for printing our money and even insuring it 
when it makes deposits at the bank.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this time to stand and say that we 
appreciate the efforts of those who work for our Federal Government, 
including most specifically those who work for this House of 
Representatives.

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