Political Quotes

“For the last four years, Congress has frozen federal employee pay. And this year, we are at it again, extending the freeze. Congress has also increased federal employee pension contributions for new hires without a corresponding increase in benefit. And, through furloughs, we are essentially imposing a 20% pay-cut and continuing to punish these people who took an oath to support and defend our country. All of this has added up--Over the last four years, Congress has reduced federal employee pay and benefits by $118 billion. Per capita, that's nearly $50,000 per employee--far more than any other American has been asked to contribute towards deficit reduction. I take issue with the practice of continuing to punish a workforce that is predominantly composed of hardworking Americans, simply because they happen to work for all of us. Your public servants have already been injured financially by a series of spirited provisions that are now law. The bills before us today would strip the ability of managers within the federal government to reward our federal workers. In fact, they end up punishing some of our highest performing federal employees. The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that federal employees in highly skilled professions could earn much more in the private sector. The Federal Salary Council issued a report in 2012 finding that federal employees were being paid nearly 35% less than similar occupations in the private sector.…”