Contact:
Brittany Holder
202-297-7244
[email protected]
WASHINGTON – American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget:
“President Biden’s budget shows that he respects the civil service and the work they do for the American people. For four years, the federal workforce had been disrespected, demeaned, and hollowed out, forcing workers to do more with less.
“Workers have cried out for more staffing so that agencies can fulfill their mission without resorting to enormous amounts of mandatory overtime, and President Biden has heard them. AFGE is thankful that substantial staffing increases to multiple agencies were included in the president’s first budget. For far too long, our members have spoken out about the dangers of understaffing agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bureau of Prisons, and Transportation Security Administration.
“While we are supportive that the long tradition of military-civilian pay raise parity has been honored in the president’s proposal, 2.7% is simply not nearly enough to compensate for the losses in buying power of federal wages and salaries over the past decade. On average, federal workers are underpaid by 23% compared to those doing the same jobs in the private sector and state and local government. We ask Congress to support the modest 3.2% increase included in the FAIR Act.”
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