IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 388 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting Federal 

employees. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 22, 2013 

Ms. FUDGE (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. POCAN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, 

Mr. VEASEY, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. HASTINGS of 

Florida, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. HOLT, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. LEE

of California, Mr. FARR, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. WATT, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. RUSH, Mr. TONKO, 

Ms. CLARKE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. ENYART, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, 

Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Mr. 

MEEKS, Ms. BASS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. PINGREE of Maine) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee 

on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 

supporting Federal employees. 

Whereas for the 18 months between December 2007 and 

June 2009, the United States economy experienced the 

longest and deepest recession of the post-World War II 

era, and, despite a robust national recovery, many indiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:31 Oct 23, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR388.IH HR388

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 388 IH 

viduals, families, and communities are still struggling to 

recover from that recession; 

Whereas Federal employees inspect the food we eat and the 

places we work, prevent the flow of illicit drugs into our 

Nation, maintain the safety of our Nation’s borders, care 

for our Nation’s veterans, deliver our mail, and keep the 

national defense systems prepared to respond to any 

threat to our safety; 

Whereas Federal employees have already sacrificed nearly 

$100 billion over 10 years to help reduce the Federal 

Government’s deficit by working under a 3-year pay 

freeze, which has lowered their lifetime earnings and retirement income; 

Whereas it has been proposed that pay of Federal employees 

be permanently reduced by a total of 1.2 percent (phased 

in over a 3-year period beginning in 2014) in order to finance their retirement benefits; 

Whereas President Barack Obama has proposed raising the 

pay of Federal employees by 0.5 percent for fiscal year 

2013 and 1.0 percent for fiscal year 2014, so Federal 

employees’ pay may keep pace with the rising cost of living; 

Whereas it has been proposed to decrease the annuity multiplier used to determine Federal retirement benefits from 

1.1 percent to 0.7 percent; 

Whereas it has been proposed to eliminate the Federal Employees Retirement System annuity supplement which is 

available to Federal employees who meet full retirement 

eligibility but have not yet reached the age for Social Security eligibility; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 388 IH 

Whereas it has been proposed to index Social Security benefits to the Chained Consumer Price Index, which would 

reduce the cost-of-living adjustments that would otherwise apply to Federal annuities; 

Whereas it has been proposed that any person who has a seriously delinquent tax debt would be ineligible for Federal 

employment or to continue serving as a Federal employee; 

Whereas hiring by the Federal Government has dropped by 

one-third over the past 3 years as a result of budget cuts, 

with the number of new hires hitting a 6-year low in 

2012, representing a 37-percent decrease from 2009; 

Whereas it has been proposed to limit the number of Federal 

employees to ensure it does not exceed 90 percent of the 

total number of Federal employees as of September 30, 

2013; 

Whereas it has been proposed to prohibit Federal agencies 

from hiring more than 1 employee for every 3 full-time 

employees who leave employment with such agencies; 

Whereas over 30,000 jobs in Federal agencies have been lost 

through attrition since January 2012; 

Whereas it has been proposed to convert the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program into a voucher program 

that would gradually shift most of the costs of health insurance to Federal and postal employees and retirees; 

Whereas over 50 percent of the extension under Public Law 

112–96 of the unemployment insurance program, administered by the States under Department of Labor oversight, was financed by an additional 2.3-percent employee 

retirement contribution required for Federal and postal 

employees hired in 2013 and later, resulting in an emVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:31 Oct 23, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR388.IH HR388

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 388 IH 

ployee retirement contribution increase of more than 

$600 per year on Federal employees making an annual 

salary of $27,000 or more; and 

Whereas some Federal employees have taken or will have to 

take furlough days as a result of the sequester pursuant 

to Public Law 112–25; for example, furloughs for certain 

Federal employees working at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor began in April 

2013, and the Department of Defense’s 670,000 civilian 

workforce were furloughed for 6 days by the end of fiscal 

year 2013: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) Congress and the President should end the 

4 pay freeze for Federal employees, and should pre5 vent any further cuts to the pensions or benefits of 

6 Federal employees; 

7 (2) Federal employee contributions to their re8 tirement system should not be increased; 

9 (3) the annuity multiplier used to determine re10 tirement benefits for Federal employees should not 

11 be decreased; 

12 (4) the Federal Employees Retirement System 

13 annuity supplement should not be eliminated, and 

14 Federal employees who are eligible to retire should 

15 be able to do so; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 388 IH 

1 (5) plans for Social Security reform should not 

2 include using a Chained Consumer Price Index, 

3 which would reduce Federal annuities; 

4 (6) the number of Federal employees hired 

5 should not be arbitrarily limited; 

6 (7) neither current nor future Federal employ7 ees should be subject to automatic termination as a 

8 result of delinquent taxes; 

9 (8) Federal agencies should be allowed to deter10 mine the hiring strategies that best meet their 

11 needs, rather than operating under an arbitrary, 

12 across-the-board hiring policy; 

13 (9) the Federal Employees Health Benefits 

14 Program should not be turned into a voucher pro15 gram that shifts the costs of health insurance to em16 ployees and retirees; 

17 (10) the tax increase on new Federal employees 

18 that funds part of the extension of the unemploy19 ment insurance program administered by the De20 partment of Labor should be repealed; 

21 (11) the work that Federal employees perform 

22 on behalf of the American people should be honored 

23 and respected; and 

24 (12) Congress should recognize that efforts to 

25 reduce the compensation and support provided to 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 388 IH 

1 Federal employees undermine our Government’s 

2 ability to meet its obligations to its citizens and hurt 

3 Federal agencies’ ability to recruit and retain a 

4 high-quality workforce. 

Æ 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS