Key House Committee Passes Measure to Cut Federal Jobs by 10% Over Three Years
Friday, November 4, 2011(National Federation of Federal Employees)
As the
holiday the season draws nearer, it looks like
there will be little to be cheerful about for
federal employees watching Congress.
On
Thursday, the House Committee on Oversight and
Government reform approved H.R. 3029, a bill
that would reduce the federal workforce by
200,000 jobs by 2015. It would do so by
replacing one federal employee for every three
who retire, separate, or otherwise depart from
the government.
Bah humbug is right. True, this measure is just one of many anti-federal worker bills to be considered in the House as of late; but what makes this different is that it took a vital leap toward becoming law by achieving committee approval. Whereas others have merely been proposed, touted, and dangled in the media spotlight, this measure succeeded in passing a full committee vote, with 24 voting for and 14 against. This means that the bill will now go before the full House of Representatives for a vote (though no date has been set as of this writing) where it could take yet another important step in becoming law.
“This is
a serious proposal that has more support in
Congress than some think,” said NFFE
Legislative Director Randy Erwin. “We can’t be
complacent and assume this is merely political
theatre. This proposal could spell disaster for
hundreds of thousands of federal workers and
their families. We can't allow this harmful
piece of legislation to pass into
law."
The only way that this bill will be stopped is if federal workers take things into their own hands and let Congress know that they will not take this laying down. Visit our Legislative Action Center to see what you can do fight back.