Jerry Moran: “I thank my very good friend, the distinguished ranking member of the committee, for yielding me this time to rise in…”

“I thank my very good friend, the distinguished ranking member of the committee, for yielding me this time to rise in strong opposition to an extension of the current pay freeze for Federal employees. This legislation is a cynical attempt to tap into misguided resentment fostered by the far right against the Federal Government and the 2 million men and women who serve our Nation as civil servants. Of those 2 million, let me point out to my colleagues that nearly two out of three civil servants work for the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Justice. In other words, two out of three Federal employees work in jobs related to our national security at home and abroad or caring for our veterans. Every one of those employees now seems to be the target of this body's misguided anger, and that's just wrong. Most of our Federal employees work for the Defense Department to enhance our security. Employees at the Department of Homeland Security work to ensure that nuclear materials aren't smuggled into our country by those who want to do us catastrophic harm. The Federal Bureau of Investigation works to investigate and prosecute cybercriminals that steal billions of dollars of intellectual property from our defense and civilian industrial base every year.…”