The topic of federal employee pay and benefits has become a hot button issue in recent years Republican lawmakers have put forth several proposals aimed at cutting pay raises, reducing benefits, and making it easier to fire federal workers. While supporters argue these changes would save taxpayer money and increase government efficiency, critics say they are unfair attacks on public servants Let’s take a closer look at what’s being proposed and what it could mean for the federal workforce.
Background
Currently, federal workers receive annual across-the-board pay raises to keep pace with private sector wages. These raises are typically 2-3% and are proposed by the President and then approved by Congress. Federal employees also enjoy robust health and retirement benefits, including participation in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which includes a defined benefit pension, Social Security benefits, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
However, some Republican lawmakers believe federal workers are overcompensated compared to private sector employees. They want to reduce pay raises, cut retirement and health benefits, and make it easier to fire poor performers. These proposals are outlined in the annual budget recommendations from the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus of over 150 conservative House Republicans led by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK).
Republican Study Committee Proposals
The RSC’s budget plans for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 include sweeping changes to federal pay and benefits Here are some of the major proposals
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End automatic pay raises The RSC wants to eliminate across-the-board pay raises and instead provide “merit-based” raises to reward high performers They estimate this would save $57 billion over 10 years
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Cut retirement benefits: Proposals include reducing or eliminating COLAs for FERS and CSRS retirees, calculating annuities based on workers’ highest 5 years of earnings rather than highest 3 years, and transitioning new hires to TSP-only retirement savings without a pension.
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Reduce health benefits: The RSC wants to cut the government’s contributions to FEHB premiums, align them more closely with the private sector, and bar new hires from receiving FEHB coverage in retirement.
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Make firing easier: Bills endorsed by the RSC would shorten firing timelines to 30 days and limit workers’ appeal rights.
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Cut paid leave, bonuses: RSC plans also call for reducing paid leave to private sector levels and limiting bonus eligibility.
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Curb unions: Proposals would ban official time for union duties, end union dues payroll deductions, and repeal Biden’s federal workforce executive orders.
What Supporters Say
Backers of the RSC proposals say they are necessary to reduce wasteful spending, modernize the civil service system, and bring federal compensation more in line with private sector benchmarks. Supporters argue:
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Federal workers earn more than private sector peers when including benefits
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Generous benefits are putting unsustainable strain on the budget
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Annual raises should be based on merit rather than across-the-board
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Limiting benefits for new hires would reduce long-term costs
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Making firing easier would remove poor performers
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Taxpayers shouldn’t fund official time for union activities
What Critics Say
Federal employee unions and other critics strongly oppose the RSC plans. They make the following counterarguments:
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Federal salaries lag private sector by over 25% on average
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Cutting benefits would worsen hiring and retention challenges
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Removing pensions and other benefits would hurt recruitment
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Annual raises prevent pay gaps from growing
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Limiting appeals rights would undermine due process
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Official time provides value and is already tightly restricted
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Plans are collective punishment of dedicated workforce
What’s Next?
Despite Republican control of the House, most RSC proposals are unlikely to become law in the near future given the Democratic Senate and Biden White House. However, federal unions remain concerned that pieces of the RSC agenda could gain traction.
As the debate continues around the scope of federal pay and benefits, both sides will likely dig in to defend their positions. Supporters say cutbacks are imperative to fiscal prudence, while critics argue the proposed cuts are an attack on public service. The outcome of this clash could impact not only the livelihoods of current and future federal employees, but also the ability of government agencies to execute their missions.
While the RSC budgets provide a roadmap of Republican priorities, the final packages that emerge from Congress each year typically take a more measured approach. However, with federal compensation in the crosshairs, the future path forward remains uncertain. All eyes will be on whether any RSC-style federal pay and benefit reductions materialize or if the status quo prevails.
Frequency of Entities
Republican Study Committee: 6 times
Rep. Kevin Hern: 2 times
FERS: 2 times
CSRS: 1 time
COLA: 1 time
FEHB: 2 times
TSP: 2 times
Bills to fast-track firing federal employees
The RSC budget request supports several legislative proposals that would make it easier for agencies to fire federal employees, stating that “it has become virtually impossible to remove most federal employees.”
“The biggest losers in this system are hardworking taxpayers who are forced to subsidize the bloated salaries of unqualified and unelected bureaucrats working to force a liberal agenda on a country that does not want it,” the report states.
President Joe Biden, on his first day in office, repealed several executive orders from former President Donald Trump that limited collective bargaining, cut official time and made it easier to fire and discipline federal employees.
But the RSC budget endorses the Union Accountability Act, introduced by Hern, which would block Biden’s repeal of Trump’s executive orders.
The RSC budget proposal also endorses the MERIT Act from Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), which would shorten the timeframe necessary to remove federal employees accused of misconduct or poor performance.
Federal employees under the MERIT Act would retain the right to appeal an adverse personnel decision to the Merit Systems Protection Board, but the MERIT Act would cap the appeal decision window to 30 days.
The RSC budget also endorsed Hern’s HERCULES Act. Among its proposals, the bill would limit federal employees to filing a workplace grievance with only one of the following authorities — the MSPB, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Office of Special Counsel or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Lawmakers are also supporting two bills from former Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) that would eliminate federal employees’ use of official time, and would require the Office of Personnel Management to report to Congress on all agency personnel conducting union duties at work.
Republicans are also targeting federal employee pay and benefits, claiming that federal employees are paid 17% more than their private-sector counterparts, when benefits are included.
Biden administration leaders reached a different conclusion last December, and determined that federal workers earned 24.09% less in wages alone than non-federal colleagues — a larger gap than what was reported the prior year.
The RSC budget committee said it supports legislation that would eliminate “automatic raises for federal employees,” and that any raise received by federal employees should be merit-based. The report estimates this would save taxpayers $57 billion over the next decade.
Biden is proposing a 5.2% pay raise for federal employees in fiscal 2024.
Republican lawmakers are also looking to scale back the scope of bonuses that federal executives receive, and ensure that agencies only award bonuses when employees meet the standard for “exceeds fully successful” in their performance evaluations.
The RSC also proposes rolling back federal paid leave policies “to match the value of benefits paid by the private sector.” Lawmakers estimate this would save $75 billion over 10 years.
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FAQ
What is the back to work bill for Republicans?
Did federal employees get a raise for 2024?
What is the Federal employee pay Act?
What is the pay raise for government employees in 2025?
Are Republicans targeting federal employee pay & benefits?
Republicans are also targeting federal employee pay and benefits, claiming that federal employees are paid 17% more than their private-sector counterparts, when benefits are included.
What does the 2024 Republican Study Committee budget mean for federal employees?
The 2024 Republican Study Committee (RSC) budget blueprint proposes substantial cuts to federal employees’ pay and benefits. The fiscal year 2024 budget from the Republican Study Committee (RSC) would make drastic reductions to the pay and benefits of federal employees. Among the proposed changes to federal employees’ pay and benefits are:
Should ‘automatic raises for federal employees’ be eliminated?
The RSC budget committee said it supports legislation that would eliminate “automatic raises for federal employees,” and that any raise received by federal employees should be merit-based. The report estimates this would save taxpayers $57 billion over the next decade. Biden is proposing a 5.2% pay raise for federal employees in fiscal 2024.
Should federal employees be paid a pay increase?
Reform federal worker paid leave policies to match the value of benefits paid by the private sector. This reform alone would save taxpayers more than $75 billion over 10 years. Automatic raises for federal employees should be eliminated. Pay increases for federal employees should be merit-based. This would save taxpayers $57 billion over 10 years.