NFFE National President Dougan Submits Congressional Testimony Defending Federal Compensation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cory Bythrow, Communications Director

Phone: (202) 216-4458

Washington, D.C. – On Capitol Hill this afternoon, the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and Labor Policy held a hearing titled “Are Federal Employees Underpaid?”

William R. Dougan, National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees, a national union representing 110,000 federal employees in 40 different departments and agencies government-wide, submitted a statement for the record on federal pay. Below are excerpts from his statement:

“We are ready to have frank and realistic discussions about the future of federal programs and the federal workforce.  We understand that we are living in tough times, and we, like all Americans, must share in the burden that we are all faced with.  We are ready and willing to engage and formulate solutions to the problems we face as a nation.”

“However, our willingness to roll up our sleeves and find ways to achieve savings in government service has been met with vitriolic political attacks on federal employees, the proliferation of bald-faced lies about federal workers’ compensation, and a willingness by some to demonize and insult America’s talented and dedicated federal workforce.”

“As we move forward with the debate about federal compensation, and all other issues relating to the federal workforce, let us do a service to the American people by having an honest discussion that is not based on manipulated and contrived facts.  We all want to solve the problems we face as a nation. We can only make that process more difficult by injecting fallacious and disingenuous arguments into the discussion.  Let us engage in this debate with the honesty and integrity that the American people deserve.”

“All of these proposals are being offered in the guise of federal deficit reduction, but like the attacks on public employee unions in Wisconsin and other states, the reality is that the attacks are politically driven.  It is positively shameful that elected officials are looking to score political points at the expense of VA doctors and nurses, border patrol agents, and defense civilians who support the mission of our armed forces overseas.”

“Official government figures show that federal employees make 24% less than workers performing similar work in the private sector.  Bringing federal pay and benefit practices more in line with the private sector would in fact require a hefty pay increase for federal workers, not a decrease as some are proposing.  The truth is that federal workers do their part to keep the federal budget down every day when they accept substantially less compensation to do the same work as their counterparts in the private sector.”

“To address the legitimate budget and deficit concerns of Congress, the Obama Administration, and the American people, let’s have a straightforward debate free of misleading political talking points.  The American people deserve real solutions, not political grandstanding.”