Dear Senator/Representative (name):
I am a proud federal employee and member of the Department of Defense
workforce. I am also a taxpayer and voter. As such, I call upon you to make a stand
against attempts (in H.R. 408, among other measures) to disproportionately place
the burdens of budget reform on the backs of working people like me.
Federal employees provide countless valuable services to our nation. As an
employee of the Department of Defense, I work very hard to support our troops and
their families. I take my responsibilities to them very seriously and I am very proud
of the work that I do. Some on Capitol Hill, however, feel I should be ashamed. They
feel my fellow federal workers and I are nothing but a drain on society and we
should be punished for choosing to serve our nation in the federal sector.
While the problems we face are real and do require strong action, the proposed
solutions being discussed unfairly and unnecessarily target federal workers. Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned against making excessively sharp cuts
in spending right now because they would have especially negative effects on the
fragile economic recovery. Vindictive cuts aimed at federal employees will be
similarly harmful because they hurt working people like me.
Some examples of these vindictive proposals:
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Expanding the two-year freeze on salaries most feds are already under to five
years
Imposing an unrealistic hiring formula that would require two current feds
to leave government service before one new employee could be hired
Eliminating “official time” for federal employees elected by their peers to act
on their behalf in dealing with management
Slashing the retirement pay long-working feds have earned by calculating
annuities based upon an employee’s highest five years of salary instead of the
current highest three years
Requiring feds to contribute a higher percentage of their salaries to their
defined benefit annuities, essentially amounting to a significant cut in pay
Requiring federal annuitants to pay a higher share of their FEHBP premiums,
imposing an unfair burden on retirees and their survivors. Feds already pay a
similar amount towards insurance premiums as private-sector workers
despite OMP reporting that private sector workers having a 24 percent
salary advantage of their fed counterparts
These are just a few examples. Federal employees are being unfairly targeted by
those on Capitol Hill with an ideological axe to grind. I call upon you to oppose
disproportionate burdens on hard working federal employees, such as those
contained in H.R. 408 and other proposals.
Thank you,
(your name and contact information)