[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 193 (Thursday, December 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8669-S8670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            FEDERAL WORKERS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, it is time for Republicans to end their 
war on dedicated, hard-working middle-class Federal employees. Who are 
these Federal workers? They are the Veterans' Administration's nursing 
assistants who care for our wounded warriors; the Department of Defense 
civilian employees who support our military troops at home and abroad; 
Social Security Administration claims representatives who process 
benefits to our Nation's senior citizens and people who qualify for 
disability payments. They also include Nobel prize-winning scientists 
who are conducting groundbreaking research at the National Institutes 
of Health and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on 
everything from fighting cancer to understanding the origins of the 
universe; the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug 
Administration staff who keep our air and water clean and our food and 
drugs safe; the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic 
controllers who keep the skies safe; also, the Department of Justice, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and United States Marshal Service 
attorneys and law enforcement officers who track down and arrest and 
convict terrorists and drug cartel and gang members.
  The list of those who are on the front line of public service goes on 
and on. Federal employees are dedicated and hard-working, and like many 
other Americans, many of them are struggling to deal with their family 
budgets. And yet Federal employees are already contributing $60 billion 
to the deficit reduction through a 2-year pay freeze.
  They have already contributed to deficit reduction. They were the 
first in line to try to help balance our budget.
  Like their private sector counterparts, Federal employees haven't 
been immune to the country's economic woes. They are confronting 
similar hardships: disabled or unemployed spouses, declining home 
values, rising gasoline and living expenses. Many Federal employees 
head single-parent families. As do other Americans, many Federal 
employees struggle to pay their mortgages and find ways to send their 
children to college.
  H.R. 3630, the House Republicans' payroll tax cut bill, would require 
2 million Federal employees to shoulder nearly one-half of the cost of 
a tax reduction that benefits 160 million Americans. So what the 
Republican bill is doing is extending the payroll tax reductions for 
working families, but saying to the middle-class Federal worker: You 
are going to pay most of the burden. That is not going to help our 
economy. That is not the right way to extend the payroll tax reduction.
  The current Republican assault on our Federal employees is piled on 
top of the current 2-year pay freeze, which is piled on top of a 
workforce already lagging behind the private sector when it comes to 
pay. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, 
average wages among all workers in our economy have risen over 600 
percent since 1969, while salaries for civilian Federal employees have 
grown by a little over 400 percent since 1969. There is a widening gap 
between public sector employees and the private sector.
  What these proposals would do is widen that gap even further.
  Republicans want to extend the current pay freeze for another year. 
That would cost a Federal employee who makes $50,000 annually about 
$800 a year. A 3-year pay freeze would cost GS-5 employees almost 
$4,000 in cumulative lost salaries; for GS-7 employees, almost $5,000 
in cumulative lost salaries; and for GS-9 employees, almost $6,000 in 
cumulative lost salaries.
  The Republican bill would require massive increases in the 
contributions current and future Federal employees make to their 
retirement system--a system that is currently fully funded--while 
slashing benefits. That is rubbing salt in the wound of the additional 
pay freeze. So the Republican bill takes a 2-year pay freeze and adds a 
third year pay freeze and tells our employees to triple their 
contributions to their retirement system, which is another pay cut. It 
is not only a freeze, Republicans are proposing. It's a pay cut for our 
Federal workers.
  In addition to these assaults, we are already asking the federal 
workforce to do more with less. As my colleagues have noticed, when it 
comes to job growth numbers, the public sector numbers aren't going up; 
they're going down. But the workload isn't going down. We are asking 
our Federal workers to do more with less, to have a 2-year pay freeze, 
and now to take a pay cut. That is not fair.
  The Republicans save their most severe punishment for future Federal 
employees, making it clear that their intention is to provide as many 
disincentives for people to consider a career in public service as 
possible. Increasing pension contributions for future hires by 3.2 
percent would force an employee making $30,000 a year to pay $1,200 
rather than $400. We should be embracing people who are willing to 
engage in public service. The Republicans are doing just the opposite.
  It is time for the Republicans to stop their war on hard-working 
Federal employees. Increasingly, the Federal workforce is being asked 
to do more with less. Increasingly, the Federal workforce is being 
asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of deficit reduction. It is 
time to stop that assault. I think it is time we all properly recognize 
the dedication, hard work, valor, sacrifice, and professionalism of our 
Federal workers.
  With that, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  I withdraw my request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.

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