‘Serious economic conditions’ demand cut to planned federal worker raise, Trump says
President Donald Trump has proposed a 1 percent raise for civilian federal workers next year — an increase that’s less than half of what was scheduled.
The White House said in a message to Congress on Monday that Trump views the planned 2.5 percent pay increase for federal workers as “inappropriate,” noting that presidents can put in place alternate pay adjustment plans in case of “national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare.”
“We must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course. Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases,” Trump’s message said, adding that under his plan locality pay rates will remain at 2020 levels.
Groups representing federal workers rejected his proposal.
“Why must President Trump start every budget cycle with a slash-and-burn approach to federal government?” National Treasury Employees Union president Tony Reardon said in a statement. “Not only does 1 percent do nothing to close the gap between federal employee salaries and their higher-paid private sector counterparts, it won’t keep up with inflation, it won’t keep up with private sector wage increases and it is meaningless if they are forced to simultaneously shave money off their paychecks for higher retirement contributions.”
Trump’s explanation for the modest pay raise proposal comes as he trumpets a strong economy and low unemployment.
On Tuesday, a day after citing “serious economic conditions” for the proposed cap on federal pay increases, Trump proclaimed the “BEST USA ECONOMY IN HISTORY” on Twitter.
He also cited a strong stock market.
Trump similarly highlighted the economy at his State of the Union address last week.
“In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American Decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny. We have totally rejected the downsizing,” Trump said, according to CNN. “We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never, ever going back.”
Still, Trump’s proposed 1 percent federal worker raise is more than he has offered in the past, according to Government Executive, which reports that “in each of the last two years, Trump pushed for a pay freeze before ultimately agreeing to a raise” — with “average 1.9 percent and 3.1 percent increases ... enacted for 2019 and 2020, respectively.”
Trump’s message to Congress downplayed potential impacts of slashing the planned pay increase.
“This alternative pay plan decision will not materially affect our ability to attract and retain a well-qualified Federal workforce,” his message said.
But at least one group representing federal workers rejected that argument.
“At a time when the federal government faces ominous recruitment and retention challenges, the president’s ... budget continues to shortchange and renege on previous commitments to federal employees and retirees,” Ken Thomas, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees association, said in a statement on Tuesday. “These contemptible recommendations do nothing more than undermine the strength of our resilient civil service, and I urge Congress to reject it outright.”
Thomas specifically targeted Trump’s proposed 1 percent raise for criticism, saying it “fails to keep pace with private-sector increases and the raise allotted to military members.”
Government Executive reports that “military service members ... would receive a 3 percent raise in 2021 under the White House’s plan.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 1:01 PM.
