The Fifth Congressional District is home to thousands of federal employees and retirees, both military and civilian. Congressman Hoyer is proud to represent them and has led the fight on issues important to public servants, including securing fair pay and benefits, with a strong focus on ensuring pay parity between military and civilian personnel.
Congressman Hoyer has consistently opposed efforts to reduce the wages, benefits, and hours of federal employees in a misguided attempt by some to bring down our nation’s deficit on the backs of middle-class families. Federal employees have already contributed more than $182 billion toward deficit reduction through freezes to cost-of-living-adjustments and changes to retirement benefits.
Throughout his career, Congressman Hoyer has also advocated for quality health care coverage, a solid retirement system, and fair working conditions for federal employees in Maryland and throughout the country.
I am encouraged by passage of todays conference report, which contains a number of positive investments for our nation and the Fifth District.
I oppose todays efforts by House Republicans on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to greatly decrease the federal workforce, a ploy to once again make federal employees a scapegoat for spending.
The plan put forward by the President today is a balanced approach to creating jobs and bringing down the deficit.
Throughout negotiations on the debt limit, I fought to ensure that federal employees were not expected to pay more than their fair share, and I think it is appropriate that the agreement reached between President Obama and Congressional leaders does not disproportionately impact federal employees.
The JWST is of critical importance to the mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center in my district and is an investment of national and global significance in the future of space astronomy and astrophysics.
I am pleased that U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry visited the Fifth District today to speak about the future of Federal recruitment and discuss how OPM is working to retain the best and brightest federal workforce.
Democrats are working hard to prevent a government shutdown, by meeting Republicans more than halfway on spending cuts, and by proposing legislationwithout divisive social policies to keep the government running while negotiations continue.
Im honored to be here today, and I want you to know how much I admire the work you do and the risks you take to protect our communities and our families. No matter how advanced your equipment is, the role you play in our communities is a timeless one.