[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.
[[Page S8670]]
____________________