On the recordFebruary 1, 2012
As I listen to the debate and as I listen to the other side--and I do want to associate myself with the words of my colleague, Mr. Moran, and the others who have spoken--over and over again we hear on the one side of the mouth coming from our Republican colleagues that they love our Federal employees so much and they do such a great job, but on the other hand they say they want to freeze their pay. One of the things that I have found so interesting, and we've heard the argument over and over, is when it came to taxes with regard to the millionaires and billionaires, they didn't want to tax them one penny more, not one dime. But yet, the person who works here in this building, the ones that work at Social Security and other places, the ones that Mr. Moran just talked about, the ones who are protecting the homeland, they say to them: We want to make sure we freeze your pay. There's something awfully wrong with that picture. I believe very strongly that we all should share in the benefits, and we should share in the sacrifice, too. They didn't ask for one dime, not a dime more from the millionaires and the folks that are making all of the money. But yet still you've got people in the Federal system, according to the CBO report, if you want to go there, and that CBO report says those people with a master's degree or above, they are making 23 percent less. What about them?…
