(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Democrats are cooking up a plan to give an 8.7% pay raise to all federal employees because former President Donald Trump was mean and the pandemic lockdowns were hard.
The massive pay raise would affect 2 million government workers in 2024. According to the Daily Wire, this comes just after President Joe Biden granted the same employees a 4.6% raise for 2023.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., argued that federal workers deserve the money because of their heroic sacrifice at the “frontlines of this pandemic”—even though many of them have continued working from home even after other private sectors were called back into the office.
“They were subjected to the Trump Administration’s cruel personal attacks, unsafe work environments, pay freezes, government shutdowns, sequestration cuts, furloughs, and mindless across-the-board hiring freezes,” Connolly said.
“Still, our federal workforce serves with dedication and distinction every day,” he continued. “Federal employees are our government’s single greatest asset, and they deserve better.”
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is co-authoring the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act, also known as the FAIR Act.
“Whether inspecting our food, conducting medical research, or caring for our veterans, federal workers play an important role in our everyday lives and deserve pay which reflects that,” Schatz said.
Connolly and Schatz introduced similar legislation in the last three congressional sessions, but none of them have made it through the gauntlet thus far. The FAIR Act currently has 23 co-sponsors.
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, argued that the pay of federal workers should “reflect the essential nature of their work,” despite the government preventing independent contractors, builders, construction workers and other private employees doing similar jobs from performing their “essential work” throughout the pandemic.
Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, argued that the raise would keep “top talent” in the government ranks, as well as keep up with sky-high inflation that, ironically, was caused in large part by the Biden administration’s exhorbitant federal spending.
“The 8.7% increase listed in the FAIR Act is not a pay raise,” Erwin said. “It is the minimum increase needed to offset the dwindling checking accounts of public servants, and it is critical to recruiting and retaining the best possible workforce.”
