To Extend the Pay Limitation for Members of Congress and Federal Employees

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I listened to the gentleman's comments. The gentleman is new to the Congress and probably doesn't have the background in terms of how this developed as to how we pay Federal employees.

As the sponsor of the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act in 1990, signed by George Bush who worked with President Bush's OMB and OPM on this legislation, obviously one of the things we did was to say if the private sector doesn't get an increase, the public sector won't get an increase. We keyed the increases to the economic cost index, which is all to say that we need to tighten our belts when the private sector tightens their belts.

Which is why, as I think I caught the gentleman's reference, that over the last 2 years, Federal employees have in fact received cuts to existing law which will result in a $60 billion savings. I think the gentleman said that, but it bears repeating. It's not as if the Federal employees haven't tightened their belts. They have. In point of fact, the pay council to which he referred believes on average that Federal employees are in fact behind, not ahead.

Now, I'm aware of the CBO report that was just issued. Mr. Cummings has responded to that. Clearly, what they said is there is a disparity. Those on the lower end of the scale are doing better. Those on the upper end of the scale aren't doing so well. None of them are getting paid as much as the gentleman is who made this speech or that I'm getting. None of them are making as much as we are.

Now, what we have here is a very clever political effort to have Members vote either for their pay or against their pay being adjusted by a cost-of-living adjustment.

I'm going to vote against this bill. I am for bringing a bill to this floor which will freeze our salaries, and I would hope that a unanimous consent to do so would not be objected to on your side of the aisle. I've been for that for the last 2 years, and I have worked in a bipartisan way over the years not to demagogue Members and have Members get cost-of-living adjustment. The sponsor of this bill, as a matter of fact, is quoted as saying how much difficulty he's having supporting his family on his salary.

Now, the fact of the matter is we ought to put a bill on this floor and freeze our salaries. Federal employees have already contributed $60 billion of benefits to which they otherwise would have been entitled because we, for the last 2 years, with my support, have frozen their salaries at the cost-of-living adjustment.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I would hope that the bill that is sponsored by Mr. Van Hollen, that there would not be an objection to a unanimous consent request to bring that bill to the floor so that Members could express that, yes, we're prepared to tighten our belts one more notch.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. CUMMINGS. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. HOYER. But what we should not do is pretend that we're going to balance the budget by undermining middle class workers, middle class workers who work for, in my opinion, the finest country on Earth and who give excellent service, extraordinary service to the people of this country, and who, per capita, are fewer than they were 20 years ago per capita.

The fact of the matter is that we ought to have a bill, we ought to pass Mr. Van Hollen's bill, we ought to take the politics out of this.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.

Mr. CUMMINGS. I yield the gentleman an additional 10 seconds.

Mr. HOYER. Then I tell my friends what we ought to do is we ought to pass a big deal. We ought to pass a $4 trillion to $5 trillion to $6 trillion big deal to get the fiscal house of the United States of America in order. It ought to include all things on the table including Federal employee pay and benefits, including the military pay and benefits and expenditures, and domestic expenditures, as well as entitlements. I've said that. That's what we ought to do. We ought not to piecemeal it as this bill reflects.

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