AFGE’s new ad opposing pay freeze: ‘Explain it to me, GOP’
February 9th, 2012 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
Click to enlarge. (Courtesy of AFGE)
The American Federation of Government Employees is stepping up its campaign against House Republicans who want to further freeze federal pay to cover the cost of a payroll tax extension. AFGE this weekend will launch a nationwide series of television and print ads titled “Explain It To Me, GOP,” that wonder how cutting federal pay and benefits will help the economy recover.
The ad seeks to put a face on federal employees who lawmakers often discuss in general — and sometimes disparaging — terms. It features members of AFGE locals — a Minnesota Veterans Affairs Department nurse, an electronics worker at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, and a corrections officer at the Miami Federal Detention Center — speaking about their not-exorbitant salaries and very real household expenses.
Republicans on a payroll tax conference committee are pushing for a one-year extension to the federal pay freeze, but Democrats have rejected that proposal. House Republicans have also attached a proposal to cut federal retirement benefits and increase the amount feds pay for their pension to a transportation bill.
What do you think of AFGE’s ad? Will it help sway public opinion, or will it fall on deaf ears?
Tags: AFGE, pay freeze, payroll tax
House passes pay freeze bill, but it’s already dead
December 14th, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
The House last night passed a bill paying for a payroll tax cut extension with a further pay freeze and steep cuts to federal retirement benefits. But that bill has almost no chance of actually becoming law.
The Senate will consider the House bill, but the Democrats controlling that chamber won’t pass it (for many reasons, but largely because it would speed up approval of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline). Even if the bill did make it through both houses of Congress, Obama yesterday pledged to veto it.
Time is running out for Congress to extend the payroll tax cut. It’s going to expire at the end of the month, but lawmakers are scheduled to skip town after Friday. It’s unclear what will happen next, but if Congress does strike a quick compromise on this, there’s a good chance a pay freeze will be included.
Tags: Congress, pay freeze, payroll tax
Lieberman: Get ready for extended pay freeze
December 13th, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., has some bad news for federal employees: The pay freeze is probably going beyond 2012. The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe this morning reported that with the government facing budget cuts, a further pay freeze is regretful, “but I think it’s necessary right now.”
Lieberman’s suspicions track with those of Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who last month said the supercommittee’s failure to reach agreement on deficit reduction made an extended pay freeze more likely, though not certain.
O’Keefe reports that Lieberman similarly qualified his pay freeze prediction by saying “I think it’s a strong probability. You never know until it happens.” In October, Lieberman proposed freezing pay for a third year to help cut the deficit.
Meanwhile, the House is set to vote tonight on a payroll tax extension bill that would freeze pay for a third year and increase the amount federal employees contribute to their retirement by 1.2 percentage points. Read about that bill, and its plans to create a new category of retirement for new employees, here. Obama today pledged to veto the bill, which he said “plays politics at the expense of middle-class families.”
Tags: Joe Lieberman, pay freeze
Pay freeze bill goes down in flames
December 1st, 2011 | Uncategorized | Posted by Stephen Losey
The bill that would have extended the federal pay freeze through 2015 didn’t even come close to clearing the 60-vote threshold required to break a filibuster this evening. Only 20 senators this evening voted to move forward with S 1931, but 78 voted against it.
But even though this bill, which also would have extended the payroll tax cut, isn’t going anywhere, its introduction should alarm federal employees and their advocates. The GOP leadership is clearly looking at a further pay freeze to free up money for other priorities. And Obama’s unwillingness to draw a line in the sand against more years of no pay raises doesn’t bode well for feds.
We’ll keep an eye on this issue — keep reading.
Tags: pay freeze
Obama mum on further pay freeze — will he support extension?
December 1st, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
The White House just released a Statement of Administration Policy opposing Republican Sen. Dean Heller’s bill, S 1931, to extend the payroll tax holiday, which would also extend the current two-year pay freeze to five total years. But what I found most interesting is what’s not in this SAP: An clear statement from Obama outright opposing the pay freeze extension.
Sure, the White House bashes Heller’s bill for not asking millionaires to “pay their fair share” (IE, raise taxes on them, as Democrats support), not expanding the payroll tax cut from $1,000 to $1,500, and adding new budget cuts that would “reduc[e] core government functions ranging from services for this nation’s veterans to border security, and further cutting back spending on the nation’s defense.”
But the pay freeze is not explicitly mentioned anywhere. Eeeenteresting. By refusing to bash Republicans for considering a three-year freeze extension, is Obama leaving himself wiggle room to back one or two more years of frozen pay?
National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley just told me the bill could come up for a vote tomorrow. This thing’s moving fast. Stay tuned for further developments — and hold onto your wallet.
UPDATE: Heller’s office says the bill could be voted on tonight.
Tags: pay freeze, Senate
Tax hikes for the rich? Nah, let’s freeze federal pay again
November 30th, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
The chances of an extended pay freeze just went up even more. Politico reports today that Senate Republicans want to extend the current two-year pay freeze by one or two more years to cover the costs of a payroll tax cut.
President Obama is pushing Congress hard to renew the payroll tax cut, and Democrats want to increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for it. A bill proposed by Senate Democrats would impose a 3.25 percent tax on annual income above $1 million to cover its roughly $115 billion price tag.
But Republicans have consistently rejected any proposal that raises taxes for the rich, and the payroll tax debate is no exception. Politico said that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., told reporters yesterday that his conference is open to extending the payroll tax holiday, but that his party would pay for it differently.
Senate Republicans reportedly held a closed-door meeting yesterday where they coalesced around the pay freeze extension plan, along with possibly means-testing Medicare and Social Security benefits. Politico quoted an unnamed Republican senator who said that the gulf between federal and private sector pay has widened over the years — in feds’ favor — as a reason for extending the pay freeze.
The current payroll tax holiday is due to expire Dec. 31, and if it is not renewed, the average household could see taxes increase by about $1,500.
Tags: pay freeze, pay gap, payroll tax
Perry: Freeze federal hiring, salaries
October 26th, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry at the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry yesterday released his “Cut, Balance and Grow” plan for cutting federal spending and balancing the budget. It includes what should be a familiar refrain by now: Freeze federal employees’ hiring and pay raises “until the budget is balanced.”
The federal workforce has ballooned under the current administration, with 175,000 new positions being created since 2009. Americans deserve a leaner, more efficient federal workforce, not one that pays its employees far more than what comparable private employees receive, or one that hands out bonuses and promotions regardless of performance. Federal bureaucrats should not receive real increases in pay while taxpayers are losing their jobs and struggling to pay their bills.
This is the first presidential campaign I can recall where federal staffing and pay has been such a hot political issue. With Republican lawmakers peppering the deficit reduction supercommittee with proposals that hit feds’ paychecks and jobs, feds should expect a lot more of this kind of talk over the next year.
Tags: budget cuts, hiring freeze, pay freeze, Rick Perry
Federal Times on the air
January 31st, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
Here is my interview with Capital Insider’s Morris Jones on deficit reduction proposals targeting federal employees. This aired Friday evening on TBD Channel 8 in the Washington area, and I will be back next month to talk more about the important issues facing feds.
Tags: Capital Insider, on the air, pay freeze
Fed Times on the air: ‘Anti-feds’ edition
January 28th, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
If you’re in the Washington area, tune into Capital Insider this evening at 8 p.m. to see me interviewed about my story “The anti-feds,” and the Republican push to balance the budget in part by targeting federal jobs and salaries.
Capital Insider is on TBD channel 8.
Tags: Capital Insider, on the air, pay freeze
Lawmakers froze their own pay in April
December 9th, 2010 | Congress | Posted by Stephen Losey
One sentiment keeps popping up in many of the e-mails and comments from readers on the two-year federal pay freeze: What about the House and Senate lawmakers themselves? Shouldn’t those knuckleheads have their pay frozen too, if feds are forced to swallow such a bitter pill?
The answer is, their pay is already frozen. The House and Senate voted in April to deny their automatic $1,600 pay hike and keep their salaries at $174,000. Congress also froze its pay last year too.
Lawmakers’ annual pay freezes translate to $160,000 saved in the 100-member Senate, and $696,000 saved in the 435-member House.
Now, the situation for their staffers is another matter entirely, and is up to each member to decide. Lawmakers each get an allowance they use to pay their own staffs, and they decide on their own whether to hand out raises and to whom. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said earlier this week that most of his staffers aren’t getting a raise for the coming year.
Tags: pay freeze