U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) voiced “strong opposition” to what he called U.S. President Donald Trump’s “short-sighted” decision to cancel pay increases that civilian federal workers expected next year.
“Congress must act to reinstate the increases for our civilian federal workers before the end of this fiscal year,” Rep. Turner wrote in an Aug. 30 letter sent to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Budget leaders in both chambers of Congress currently are considering federal appropriations for fiscal year 2019. Rep. Turner asked them to “reject the President’s short-sighted decision to cancel the 2.1 percent pay increase and locality pay increases for our valuable federal civilian employees.”
“The President says we cannot afford this pay raise,” Turner wrote. “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.”
The congressman also noted that more than 15,000 federal civilian employees live and work in the Dayton region of his home state, with over 12,000 of them working daily at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base “to ensure our national security.”
“Federal civilian employees are the foundation of our government’s day-to-day operations,” Rep. Turner wrote. “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.”
To recruit, retain and honor such “an excellent workforce,” he said Congress must guarantee a competitive pay scale for all federal employees, including civilians.