Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) wrote today to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressing his strong opposition to President Trump’s decision to cancel the 2.1 percent pay increase and locality pay increases expected for civilian federal workers in 2019. Additionally, he urged Congress to reinstate the increases for civilian federal workers before the end of the fiscal year. Congressman Turner believes we must work together to balance the budget but not on the backs of federal civilian employees.
Congressman Turner wrote:
“I am writing in strong opposition to President Trump’s decision to cancel the 2.1 percent pay increase and locality pay increases for civilian federal workers in 2019. Congress must act to reinstate the increases for our civilian federal workers before the end of this fiscal year.
The Dayton region is home to over 15,000 federal civilian employees. In fact, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base alone, more than 12,000 federal civilian employees work every day to ensure our national security.
Federal civilian employees are the foundation of our government’s day-to-day operations. Our country relies on these employees to carry out critical duties across all sectors of government, from national security and healthcare to economic expansion and infrastructure development.
As I said when the Office of Personnel Management attempted to cut federal employee benefits earlier this year: in order to recruit, retain and honor an excellent workforce to serve the American people, Congress must ensure a competitive pay scale befitting the federal employee workforce, including civilians.
The President says we cannot afford this pay raise. However, it is my firm belief that our country cannot afford to make the federal government a less attractive place to work and risk losing these often-undervalued employees to the often higher-paying private sector.
As we return to Washington to debate how federal dollars will be appropriated this coming fiscal year, I strongly urge leaders of the House and Senate to reject the President’s shortsighted decision to cancel the 2.1 percent pay increase and locality pay increases for our valuable federal civilian employees. We must work together to balance the budget but not on the backs of federal civilian employees.”