Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Stephen F. Lynch, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and the Census, led a group of 40 Members of Congress urging congressional budget negotiators to ensure that federal employees will not be subject to additional reductions in pay and benefits in a future budget agreement. Importantly, the letter to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray and Ranking Member Jeff Sessions highlighted the many sacrifices that middle income federal workers have already made in order to address the budget deficit and underscored that the negotiators must consider these sacrifices as they continue budget talks.
“Over the past three years, our hardworking federal workers have suffered through relentless attacks on their pay and benefits and have contributed more than their fair share towards helping reduce the federal budget deficit,” said Lynch. “They have endured a three-year pay freeze reducing their pay by nearly $100 billion over 10 years, a drastic reduction in retirement benefits for new hires, and sequester-imposed furloughs.”
Lynch called on the negotiators to take federal workers’ pay and benefits off the table during budget negotiations, adding, “The budget should not be about cutting the pay and retirement and healthcare benefits of middle-income workers. We urge the Budget Conferees instead to find common ground based on creating jobs and investing in our nation’s education, research, and infrastructure for the benefit of all Americans.” Full text of the letter can be found here.
Co-signers of the letter: Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, Gerald E. Connolly, Eleanor Holmes Norton, James P. Moran, Donna F. Edwards, Peter DeFazio, Sheila Jackson Lee, Earl Blumenauer, James P. McGovern, Barbara J. Lee, Marcia L. Fudge, Cheri Bustos, Carol Shea-Porter, Charles B. Rangel, John K. Delaney, Alcee L. Hastings, John Conyers, Jr., Juan Vargas, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Michael E. Capuano, Derek Kilmer, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Chellie Pingree, Peter Welch, Louise M. Slaughter, Mark Pocan, Alan Grayson, Donald Payne, Jr., Elizabeth H. Esty, Keith Ellison, Luis V. Gutierrez, Eric Swalwell, David N. Cicilline, John F. Tierney, Dan Kildee, Alan Lowenthal, José E. Serrano, William R. Keating, Gregory W. Meeks, and Matt Cartwright.