In the News

Today, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly was joined by Representatives Steny H. Hoyer, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John Sarbanes, Don Beyer, John Delaney, Anthony G. Brown and Jamie Raskin in sending a letter to congressional leadership urging them to reject President Trump’s plan to cancel a scheduled pay increase for federal workers.

“It is beyond cynical that the President would cite serious economic and fiscal concerns to justify his decision to cancel a pay adjustment for middle class workers while he tweets constantly about economic gains and touts a tax bill that exploded the deficit by $1.5 trillion,” the Members wrote.

“We request that Congress provide, at the very least, a 1.9 percent federal pay adjustment, which was included in the Senate-passed Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2019,” the Members added.

Federal employees were scheduled to receive pay increase of 2.1 percent, which would have taken effect in January 2019. However, last week the President sent a letter to congressional leadership stating, “I have determined that for 2019, both across‑the‑board pay increases and locality pay increases will be set at zero.” This is just the latest in a series of attacks the Trump administration has made on federal workers, including proposed cuts to pay and pension changes, and the erosion of union representation and some workplace protections.

“The men and women of the federal workforce are the same hardworking Americans we honored on Labor Day in communities across the country,” the Members wrote. “We urge you to recognize their dedicated service to our nation with a minimum pay adjustment of 1.9 percent, as already endorsed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the Senate.”

The full letter follows and is available here.

The Honorable Mitch McConnell                                             The Honorable Charles Schumer
Majority Leader                                                                        Minority Leader
United States Senate                                                                 United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510                                                           Washington, D.C. 20510


The Honorable Paul Ryan                                                        The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker                                                                                     Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives                                  United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515                                                          Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, Speaker Ryan, and Leader Pelosi:

We write to urge you to reject the President’s decision to deny hardworking federal employees a modest, scheduled pay increase of 2.1 percent, which would have taken effect in January 2019. We request that Congress provide, at the very least, a 1.9 percent federal pay adjustment, which was included in the Senate-passed Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2019.

It is beyond cynical that the President would cite serious economic and fiscal concerns to justify his decision to cancel a pay adjustment for middle class workers while he tweets constantly about economic gains and touts a tax bill that exploded the deficit by $1.5 trillion.

The American people want a federal government that keeps them safe and secure and reliably delivers vital services. The individuals of our federal workforce clock in each day on behalf of that mission. They conduct critical medical research, care for our veterans, protect the homeland, support national security operations around the globe, and ensure the safety of the food we eat and the air we breathe. This essential work is what President Kennedy had in mind when he spoke of the nobility of public service. Like President Kennedy, we believe that our country is made stronger by a federal government people can depend on and for which people want to work.

That is why the vilification of federal employees must stop. The ongoing assault on federal employees is unprecedented and it does nothing to improve the functionality of the federal government. The Trump Administration has advocated repeatedly for draconian cuts to federal employee pay and compensation. The President has targeted the ability of federal employees to resolve workplace disputes, challenge unfair treatment, and collectively bargain the terms of their employment. Now he wants to balance the budget on the backs of federal workers in order to obscure his fiscal mismanagement.

Federal employees have endured these attacks while making sacrifices of their own. Over the last six years, they have contributed $200 billion to deficit reduction, undergone federal pay and hiring freezes, lost family income to sequestration-related furloughs, and increased their pension contributions. We cannot recruit and retain the talent we need to support a 21^st century federal workforce if this assault on public servants continues.

The men and women of the federal workforce are the same hardworking Americans we honored on Labor Day in communities across the country. We urge you to recognize their dedicated service to our nation with a minimum pay adjustment of 1.9 percent, as already endorsed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the Senate.

Thank you for your attention to this fundamental issue which directly impacts more than 2 million federal workers and American families in every state and Congressional district.

Sincerely,