Would freezing federal worker salaries help cut government costs? House Republicans think so, and are floating the idea as one of several
potential government spending cuts.
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) recently launched YouCut,
an online contest designed to highlight government projects his
colleagues consider wasteful. Participants are asked to vote each week
on five proposed cuts and the most popular is then introduced by
Republicans to the full House for an up or down vote.
This week’s choices include cutting President Obama’s proposed 1.4 percent pay raise for civilian federal workers from next year’s budget.
Republicans estimate the raises would cost taxpayers approximately $2
billion in fiscal 2011 and about $30 billion over the next decade.
Their proposal cites an oft-criticized USA Today analysis that found some federal workers
are paid more than 20 percent more than private sector counterparts.
(But Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag
has called
the analysis “misleading,” arguing federal workers are generally
more educated and experienced than private sector workers.)
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