Date: 2013-02-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman. Last night at the Rules Committee. there were amendments to bring forward the right way of addressing the question. and they indicated that was not germane. I know these words are confusing. but that could have been a waiver. We all know what that means. It doesnt match. it doesnt fit. but we waive you in. That could have been debated on the floor of the House. My amendment said that we should take a pause. I simply said this bill shouldnt be brought up. I struck the entire language of the bill so that we could get to the point of providing a debate on the sequester to make sure that the American peoples voices are heard. They dont want an acrosstheboard cut when you begin to cut the resources that they need. But we can do better. And let me just say to you. in Texas. there are 251.000 Federal employees. California. over 400.000. These are not folks inside the beltway. Theyre the ones that are in the Nations national forests. on the border. in hospitals. dealing with drug cartels. I can assure you. Mr. Speaker. that this is not what we should be doing today. This is unfair to our Federal workers. and I wont stand for it. Vote against the rule and the bill. Mr. Speaker. I rise to explain my amendment #5 to H.R. 273. "to eliminate the 2013 statutory pay adjustment for federal employees and to reject this frontal assault on federal employees." My amendment would have struck the entire text of this bill. Why? Because the premise underlying the bill. to freeze federal salaries. is flawed. And let me be clear: this bill does not add a dime to deficit reduction efforts. Yet my friends on the other side insist on this game of charades. pretending to be concerned with deficit reduction. but the folly of it all is that its only a notsowelldisguised game of political oneup man ship. If you are really looking to cut government spending you should have made the Amendment submitted by my colleague. Mr. VAN HOLLEN of Maryland inorder. Mr. VAN HOLLENs amendment was not perfect as it cut subsidies for large oil companies. among other things. but it represents a balanced approach to deficit reduction. And as we look for ways to address our fiscal issues we cannot continue to use the salaries and retirement options of federal employees as our Congressional Savings and Loans. Federal employees have contributed more than their fair share to addressing this problem. We need creative and long term solutions with a heavy emphasis on job growth. H.R. 273 continues to freeze the salaries of federal employees who are vital to implementing the very laws and regulations that are generated by Congress and federal agencies. As the Ranking Member on Homeland Security Committee. Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. I can attest that it is in our national security interest to have the ability to recruit and retain the best and the brightest employees to keep our borders safe from harm. As a Representative from Texas. I can further attest that is again in our nations best interest to have qualified high skilled professionals reviewing drilling applications for off shore well sites. Federal employees help to ensure that the air we breathe. the airways that we travel upon. and the food we eat are safe. Most Americans encounter their first federal employee when they meet their postal carrier. Men and women who faithfully deliver the mail: rain or shine. After 911 with our need to improve airline security. we turned to federal employees . . . the very employees who are amongst the first to react when there is an attack on our soil. Federal employees operate in every state cross our nation with only 15% of all federal employees working in Washington D.C. continuing to freeze their compensation is not a long term solution to our fiscal problems. Our long term fiscal problems will not be solved by cutting Social Security. Medicaid. or Medicare. Our problems will not be solved by freezing the pay and benefits of federal employees. Our problems will not be solved on the backs of seniors. low and middle income Americans. or the disabled. Our problems can be solved by putting forth legislation that will put hardworking Americans back to work. advance training for high skilled and high wage jobs. By putting forth legislation that inspirers innovation. and through addressing the long term needs of all Americans rather than a few. Most federal employees are not living the lifestyles of the rich and famous. The majority of Federal employees are middle class Americans. Over 60 percent of all federal employees make less than $75.000 a year. According to the Federal Salary Council (FSC) annual report federal employees are paid 34.6 percent less in salary than their privatesector counterparts. There are those who have cited a study by the Congressional Budget Office which found that federal workers on average earned slightly more than privatesector workers. however. that study did not take into account the level of job responsibility. specialized training. or length of tenure of each employee. Which we all know should be taken into account. There are those who claim that the federal government is too large. In reality. the federal government is smaller today that it was in The IRS has 20.000 fewer employees than they did in 1995. yet are required to process 236 million more complicated tax returns. The Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has 7 percent fewer employees serving 64 percent more enrollees. Most growth in the number of federal workers has been in Homeland Security and Defense as a result of 9/11. From 2001 to 2010. employment in nonsecurity federal agencies as a percent of population actually fell by 4 percent. Even though overall there are less federal government employees serving each American today than there were 30 years ago. They have still contributed $103 billion worth of budget savings since the beginning of 2011. $60 billion from a federal pay freeze in 2011 and 2012. $15 billion from increased retirement contributions for newlyhired federal employees. As a result new hires will not receive 2.3% less compensation than their federal counterparts. $28 billion from a pay increase of .5 percent which is well below the Cost of Living Adjustment of 1.7 percent. Additional funds will also be generated as a result of a mandatory reduction in the Department of Defense civilian work force. Federal Employees have given enough. They have not seen a cost of living adjustment in going on 3 years. There appears to be a growing attitude that this freeze should go on indefinitely. The freeze was originally enacted to cover only 2011 and 2012. however. it was extended through late March as part of a temporary budget measure. Again. this was supposed to be a temporary solution not a permanent cure. We must do more to recruit and retain the best and brightest. We must do more to inspire innovation and job growth. We must do more to protect middle income Americans. like federal employees. The way to address our longterm fiscal problems is not be using federal employees as a Congressional Savings and Loans. Again. it is not through cuts to Social Security. Medicaid. and Medicare. It is by advancing creative longterm solutions that encourages jobs growth and innovation that will allow us to fix our current fiscal issues.