Let's Make a Deal: Congress, White House Reach Compromise to Raise Debt Limit, Avoid Default

This does not mean that federal employees are out of the woods, however. As part of the deal, a bipartisan 'super committee' will be formed in Congress with the task of identifying another $1.5 trillion in savings by Thanksgiving. No word has been given yet regarding who will staff the committee, but it is known that it will be made of six Democrats and Six Republicans from both the House and Senate.

"We are relieved to see that federal workers were not singled out for cuts to their retirement security in this initial agreement," said Dougan. "However, we suspect this idea will be resurrected by some of the super committee members, and we will be fighting these same fights all over again.”

Though the deal spares federal workers from immediate benefit reductions, the proposal also includes dramatic cuts to agency budgets over the long term. The framework issued by the negotiators calls for $900 billion in cuts over the next decade across federal agencies, including Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs, among others. Over the next two budget cycles - 2012 and 2013 - the cuts will total $10 billion from current levels. The majority of the savings will come over the following eight years as legislators look for reductions in already cash-strapped agency budgets.