IFPTE Tells House Oversight Committee That Cuts to Federal Retirement and Merit Protections Will Hurt Government Services Americans Count On
As anticipated in previous IFPTE letters to Members of Congress opposing cuts to federal benefits and other threats to the federal civil service, the Republican-led Budget Reconciliation bill contains deeply misguided pending cuts to the Federal Employee Retirement System and attacks on merit protections.
This week the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Republican leadership voted to advance spending cuts that will save $51 billion over 10 years, IFPTE’s letter to the leadership to the House Oversight Committee made clear that, “if enacted, the actual cost in lost expertise, loss of ability to recruit and retain qualified workers, and the loss of a merit-based, nonpartisan government will extend throughout the whole federal government and take years to rectify. It will be Americans who pay the cost when, not if, government services and functions that keep Americans safe, support economic prosperity, provide for our national security, and uphold our standard of living are degraded.”
The letter also notes that, “When considered alongside the Trump Administration’s directives to dismantle Congressionally-funded agency offices, government functions, and public services, and the intentionally demoralizing and hostile policies that the federal workforce is being subjected to, it’s highly likely that the Committee Print proposals will trigger an exodus of experienced and skilled federal workers and hollow out agencies that provide those essential services and functions to the American people.”
These provisions are part of the budget reconciliation bill that the majority party in the House and Senate can pass without needing any bipartisan support. Budget reconciliation bills are limited to only including provisions that affect revenues and spending, not policy, and this particular budget reconciliation bill is meant to cut $1.5 to $2 trillion in spending over 10 years to allow for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the ultrawealthy and for corporations. The budget reconciliation bill would allow for a $5.7 trillion increase in the federal budget deficit.
Here are the provisions attacking federal employee retirement and civil service protections:
Raises the FERS retirement contribution rate for all federal and postal employees to 4.4% of their salary.
Eliminates the FERS supplement payment for federal employees retiring before age 62 (federal occupations with retirement required before age 62 are exempted).
Bases a federal retiree’s annuity payment on their average highest five earning years, instead of the current highest three earning years.
Makes new federal employee hires choose to be “at will” employees without merit system protections or choose to maintain merit system protections and pay an additional 5% FERS contribution rate, totaling 9.4% of pay, which is effectively a 5% pay cut.
Charges federal employees a fee for Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) filings equivalent to the fee for filing a civil lawsuit in federal district court, which is $350.
On Wednesday, April 30, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted along party lines, with 22 Republicans supporting the proposals and 21 Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), opposing it, to advance the proposals. The budget reconciliation process still has some hurdles to clear and there is time to tell lawmakers they need to oppose these provisions from being included in a budget reconciliation bill. Read the Committee Print legislative text [PDF] advanced by the House Oversight Committee here and watch the Committee’s debate and consideration of these proposals, which lasted nearly 6 hours, here.
IFPTE asks all members in the U.S., regardless of whether you work in the federal sector, the private sector, or state and local government, to contact your Members of Congress. We also ask you to reach out and encourage friends and family in Republican-represented Congressional Districts and states to contact their lawmakers and ask Congress to oppose slashing federal employees' retirement benefits and undermine the merit protections that keep government accountable and nonpartisan. TELL CONGRESS: Hands Off Federal Employees' Retirement Benefits and Merit System Protections
Read IFPTE’s letter to House Oversight Committee leadership here.
Read the AFL-CIO’s letter to the House Oversight Committee here.
Read the Federal-Postal Coalition letter to the House Oversight Committee here.