©
By Seung Min Kim
If the House gets its way, the pay freeze isn’t thawing anytime soon for federal workers.
The House voted 309-117 to extend the salary freeze for federal workers - as well as for members of Congress - for one more year. The standard salary for a member of Congress has stayed at $174,000 since 2009.
The House’s move puts them on a collision course with the White House, where President Barack Obama has called for a .5 percent pay increase for federal workers starting next year. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.
But Wednesday’s largely bipartisan vote could help the GOP’s push to include a pay freeze in the payroll tax cut negotiations. The measure would save about $26 billion, and Republicans want the pay freeze to help pay for other proposals in the package.
To boost support for the bill before Wednesday’s vote, Republicans seized on a report from the Congressional Budget Office that showed federal workers are compensated 16 percent better than comparable employees in the private sector.
“We have been fortunate throughout our history to have talented and hardworking individuals who have chosen public service,” Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) said. “Our appreciation for their service doesn’t bring a mandate to pay them above market rates with little regard given to their individual performance.”
Democrats – particularly those who represent districts with large numbers of federal workers – complained because the lawmakers’ pay freeze was lumped together in the bill with the freeze for government employees.
“So, it will be perceived as if you are voting against the bill, you are voting to raise your own salary,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters earlier this week. “A very good 30-second ad. Isn’t that clever?”
Hoyer and several other fellow D.C.-area Democrats lashed out at Republicans in a “Dear Colleague” letter, accusing the GOP of politicizing pay for federal workers.
“The merits of pay increases for federal employees should be debated separately from our consideration of pay for Members of Congress,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote. “While we are not opposed to a freeze on Members’ pay for fiscal year 2013, we will not support a pay freeze for federal employees for a third consecutive year.”
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
My pay has been frozen for the last 3 years.
My pay has been frozen for the last 3 years. But thanks to The Bamster and the things he has done via 'bamacare, my health insurance has gone up 25% over the same period.
The Bamster's new re-election slogan should be
"Getting By With Less - 4 more years of the Same Ol' Stuff"
Hateful
All the comments are pretty hateful.
Hateful
All the comments are pretty hateful.
Hateful
All the comments are pretty hateful.
It's all
semantics and political posturing really. Hmmmm....pay freeze or .5% pay raise. In terms of the net affect on the paycheck or the fact that inflation was 3% for 2011, what's the difference? Obama sure has a habit of bloviating about tax cuts or pay raises but each constitutes an extremely minimal amount that the receivers don't even notice.
What a joke
OMG! How in the world could anyone live on only $174,000? They need a raise bad. It takes me 11.6 years to make that much money but, I do not count or matter. 99%
So... either you are very young or lack ambition.
Do you realize that if it takes you 11.6 years to earn $174,000 at 2087 hours a year then you make $7.10 an hour? I dare say either you are just starting out and are working for minimum wage or you have not applied yourself very well at improving your situation. Maybe you suffer from a substance abuse or you are content to stay at the entry level job and don't want to take on the additional responsibility of a higher paid job.
Seems to me
By applying all those negative possible reasons to a low-paid worker, that indicates a low opinion of those who work for less. In today's job market, lower paying jobs may be all that are available. A little compassion for others, please
Don't stop at a freeze
cut half the jobs as well.
Most employed by the Government are related to each other in one way or another.
They aren't any more qualified than anyone else to do the job, and the taxpayers are tired of paying for "no show" employees and others that take advantage of the system as well.
Many of the jobs are made up Government departments, and many are positions that do not need the majority of employees that they have.
It's time for a big DUMP.
Ratios
An area gov't place that's comparable to the work I do has at least as many employees for their one facility as we have for three. Hmmm. No raises for us this year either!