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“Today, for the first time in history, the United States Postal Service is set to default on its obligations because House Republicans refuse to take action on bipartisan postal reform legislation. The Senate passed a bill, by a bipartisan vote of 62-37 in April, that could have prevented default and preserved the Postal Service. Unfortunately, as we head into the August district work period, House Republicans refuse to address this matter at all and are once again walking away from the American people on a critical issue.

I am extremely disappointed that Republicans are asking federal employees to take a freeze in pay for a third year in a row.  Federal employees have already accepted two consecutive pay freezes with the knowledge that the savings would be applied toward meeting our nation’s fiscal challenges.  At the same time Republicans were asking federal employees to contribute, they refused to ask the same of millionaires and billionaires. 

First of all, federal employees have contributed $75 billion over the last two years towards helping us reduce the deficit – $75 billion. No other working American has been asked to do that. You treat federal employees in this House as second-class working people. That's wrong. This is a 5% tax increase on federal employees. Nobody else. Nobody else do we ask. The richest people in America, we don't ask them to help solve this deficit problem. But federal employees, yes, a $75 billion contribution, and you don't blink an eye because it's easy – because we demagogue about government and, by association, we demagogue about ‘bureaucrats’ used as an epithet.

For federal employees and their families enduring years of frozen pay, a new proposal to cut their pay could not come at a worse time. Those who serve at federal agencies are middle-class workers who never see salaries or bonuses like those on Wall Street. Federal employees have been hurt by the recession just like the rest of America's middle class. They work hard each day in jobs that are frequently high in stress and responsibility but low in pay and benefits. But they know they are making a difference and serving their country.

“I was pleased to see so many federal employees at today’s event.  These are public servants who perform important work on behalf of this nation, from keeping our homeland safe to ensuring the food we eat is safe and making certain our seniors get their Social Security checks on time.  Federal employees are a living example of government ‘for the people, by the people.'

I know that everybody on my side would have supported the agreement that Mr. Van Hollen and I put forward. That agreement would, as the current agreement would say, that the only individuals paying for this bill out of 315 million Americans are the two million civilian workers who work for us, who work for all of us, who day after day, week after week, month after month make sure we give the services to the people of the United States, protect the United states, ensure that our food is safe, ensure that we have FBI agents on the job, make sure at the Defense Intelligence Agency we know what other people are doing, these are all civilian employees. Highly skilled, highly trained, highly educated and, yes, highly motivated. And every day they give outstanding service to the people of the United States. We talk here and we pass laws here but none of that talk and none of those laws make a difference unless somebody implements what we say and the policies that we set. This Congress is on the path to be the most anti-federal worker Congress that I have served in.

I am very disappointed that the proposed UI extension will be paid for by increasing the retirement contributions made by new federal workers. When we work to protect the middle class, it is only right to protect them all, and federal workers are hardworking Americans who have already contributed $60 billion to deficit reduction over the next decade. Our deficit problems were not created by these men and women, and they will not be solved by only asking them to contribute. If we are going to address our deficit in a big, bold and balanced way, we must look beyond just federal workers and ask others to share in the contributions our deficit problems demand.

Democrats have offered on the House Floor five times a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open as negotiations on a full year continuing resolution continue. So far, even though Democrats have gone 70 percent of the way to Republicans’ position, Republicans refuse to compromise over their divisive social agenda. As a result, Republicans are risking a shutdown that will harm the economy and negatively impact Americans.

Whether retired or active, Federal public servants and their service to the American people—whether they are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents—deserve respect. As someone who represents almost 60,000 Federal employees in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District and sees the contributions of public servants on a daily basis, they certainly have mine.