Daily Dose: “Supercommittee” Uncertainty Over Federal Benefits

Federal workers have been wondering what employee benefits might be up for cuts under the new Congressional “Supercommittee”, but last week’s appointments don’t necessarily shed light on what the future might hold. The Washington Post has dug into the committee members’ voting records and found that most have little to no history in federal benefits.

The one notable exception is Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), whose district is home to a large number of federal workers and who has consistently advocated for their interests for years.

The committee, which is to make deficit-cutting recommendations by Thanksgiving under a provision of the law that raised the federal debt ceiling, contains only one member, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who currently sits on either of the two committees primarily dealing with employee issues, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the Senate, and Oversight and Government Reform in the House.

‘Supercommittee’ has thin record on federal employee issues

While Van Hollen has the most extensive record on voting to protect federal benefits, past voting records are not necessarily an accurate predictor of future behavior. Van Hollen is from an area that many federal employees call home, but other supercommittee members are not. This could make them less sympathetic toward measures that preserve federal wages and benefits. What do you think? Now that the supercommittee members have been named, do you think we are more or less likely to see cuts to federal pay and benefits?

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