Both the Senate and House budgets for fiscal 2016 would require federal employees to contribute substantially more of their wages toward their retirement without getting any additional benefits in return. This would result in a 6% cut in salary for most current employees.
That 6% pay cut would mean a $1,757 per year loss for a nursing assistant caring for veterans at the Sheridan VA Medical Center in Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi’s home state of Wyoming. If Chairman Enzi wants to talk about helping working class people with a straight face, he needs to explain how someone caring for our nation’s wounded warriors is supposed to support his or her family when their senator is so focused on cutting their pay.
Slashing the compensation of government employees who have devoted their lives to serving the public isn’t a plan for growing the economy. On the contrary, it’s a sure-fire way to lower the living standards for working class people who have already paid a steep price during the economic recession.