GOP Proposal Targets Federal Pay, Benefits

More cuts to federal pay and benefits are coming if House Republicans have their way. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Tuesday unveiled a fiscal 2013 budget blueprint that would cut the federal workforce by 10 percent, freeze annual pay increases through 2015 and increase the amount federal employees pay toward their pensions.

More specifically, the proposal would cut the federal workforce by roughly 210,000 over the next three years -- not through layoffs, but through gradual attrition. The proposal also would freeze across-the-board pay increases for federal employees for an additional three years and would increase federal employee retirement contributions.

The proposal is not clear on the additional amount federal employees would pay toward their pensions but recommends "making pensions for federal workers more like those for workers in the private sector." Employees in the Federal Employees Retirement System currently pay 0.8 percent of their paychecks toward their retirement.

"The federal government's responsibilities require a strong federal workforce," Ryan's proposal states. "Federal workers deserve to be compensated equitably for their important work, but their pay levels, pay increases and fringe benefits should be reformed to better align with those of their private sector counterparts."

Ryan noted that federal pay continues to outpace private sector pay, citing a recent CBO study that found federal workers on average are paid 16 percent higher than comparable private sector employees. However, that same study found that federal employees with professional or doctorate-level degrees are actually paid about 23 percent less than those with the same degrees in the private sector.

Recent research by technology jobs website Dice.com also found that salaries for government IT workers fell below the national average in 2011, meaning agencies have less of a competitive edge when recruiting top notch IT and cybersecurity skills.

Joseph Beaudoin, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, said Tuesday that the proposal would eliminate some 100,000 federal jobs directly related to U.S. defense and security. "It's worth remembering that losing one in 10 federal workers means losing 100,000 employees at the U.S. departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Justice and Homeland Security," he said.