IMPORTANT: This information should not be downloaded using government equipment, read during duty time or sent to others using government equipment, because it suggests action to be taken in support or against legislation. Do not use your government email address or government phone in contacting your Member of Congress.
Budget Talking Points: FY’16
- On December 11th, we will be on the verge of another government shutdown. This will be the third time in less than 5 years that we are facing this kind of fiscal crisis.
- These crises aren’t just bad for Americans’ confidence in Congress, they’re bad for the economy. As a federal employee, these shutdowns are directly impacting my ability to provide needed services to the American people.
- I want a budget deal that works for working Americans. For my family and I, that means ending the sequestration and not cutting my, or any other federal workers’, pay. Enough is enough.
- Federal employees have already contributed $159 billion towards deficit reduction through a combination of retirement cuts, pay freezes, furloughs, and budget cuts. The math is:
- 3-year pay freeze (2011, 2012, 2013)
- 2012 UI extension which increased retirement contributions for 2013 hires to 3.1%
- 2013 lost salaries of 750,000 employees furloughed because of sequestration
- 2013 Murray-Ryan increased retirement contributions for post-2013 hires to 4.4%
- The House- and Senate-passed budget resolutions includes a 6.25% increase in pension contributions for all federal employees, which would mean a pay cut for the entire federal workforce. That’s equivalent to me losing 3 weeks of pay! Haven’t we sacrificed enough already?
- No other group has had to sacrifice so much in the name of deficit reduction, and now, some in Congress want more from federal workers.
- We all want a deal; but not at the expense of our livelihoods and our abilities to provide services to the American people. Vote NO on any budget that doesn’t end the Sequestration and vote NO to any bill that would further cut federal employees’ pay.
American Federation of Government Employees Local 704 