Breaking Government: How DOGE and Trump Damaged Federal Workers, Public Services, and How We Fix It

2/12/2026

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

Ranking Member Garcia, members of the Committee, and local representatives, thank you for holding this important hearing.

My name is Doreen Greenwald, and I'm the National President of NTEU, the National Treasury Employees Union. While I am a proud union president, most importantly I'm a federal employee. I spent 35 years at the IRS, the last 19 as a revenue officer, helping ensure that our tax system works fairly for all Americans. I love being a public servant. I love knowing that my work makes a difference in people's lives. That's why I chose federal service, and it's why so many of the over 150,000 federal employees I represent across 38 agencies chose it too.

Federal employees show up every day—not for the pay, which lags over 20% behind the private sector—but because they believe in serving their country and their communities. And yet, this administration has subjected these dedicated public servants to relentless, baseless attacks.

Let me be clear about what the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, has done at the behest of the White House. DOGE was run by individuals with zero federal workforce experience who treated our government like a tech startup they can just "disrupt" without consequences. They never consulted with federal employees or their unions. Instead, they launched a campaign of chaos and destruction. Their focus was not on making agencies run more efficiently, it was about slashing and destroying without any goal of improving services or saving money for the American people.

In just one year, a reported 317,000 federal workers have been forced out of government service. The Deferred Resignation Program coerced thousands to quit or risk being fired later. DOGE and others in the administration publicly shamed individual federal employees on social media, releasing their personal information. Employees were subjected to political loyalty tests. OMB Director Russ Vought openly stated he wants federal workers to feel "trauma" and to "not want to go to work." This isn't reform. This is systematic abuse.

And it's not just federal workers who are suffering; it's every American who depends on their government.

The IRS and Customs and Border Protection, where we represent employees, together bring in well over 90% of the federal government's revenue. Think about that: these NTEU-represented employees fund nearly everything our government does. And yet this administration continually works to undermine their mission.

At the IRS, we've lost 27% of the workforce just as tax season begins. Customer service representatives are down 22%. At the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, this administration has tried to force out the majority of the workforce. They have abandoned settlements that would have returned $19 billion to defrauded consumers and reversed decisions on capping credit card and bank overdraft fees that would have saved consumers billions. At CBP’s Office of Field Operations, officers are being pulled from understaffed ports of entry and reassigned to unrelated missions, compromising both border security and economic growth.

And then there's the retirement processing crisis. Nearly 50,000 retirement applications are backlogged at OPM; four times the normal level. Federal retirees are waiting six to nine months for their first annuity payment. Some are facing foreclosure. Some have lost their homes. Some have even lost their healthcare benefits. This is unacceptable.

So what do we do to fix this?

First, we need to restore collective bargaining rights for the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who the administration has illegally attempted to strip of their rights. I want to thank the members here today as well as the rest of those members in the House who voted to pass the Protecting America's Workforce Act. Now we need the Senate to act. Pass this bill. And restore collective bargaining rights.

Second, we need to stop the bleeding. Halt any additional RIFs. Surge resources to OPM to clear the retirement backlog. Provide adequate funding so federal workers have the resources to do their jobs.

Third, we need long-term reforms to protect the civil service. Prevent the conversion to Schedule P/C permanently. Strengthen due process protections.

Fourth, it’s vital that federal employees are fairly compensated for the important work they do. I want to take a moment today to say thank you to Representative Walkinshaw, along with Senator Schatz, for re-introducing the FAIR Act. This bill would provide a much-needed average 4.1% pay raise in 2027. If the federal government wants to compete for talent and rebuild the workforce, we need to offer competitive pay.

But here's what I want to leave you with: despite everything this administration has thrown at them, federal employees keep showing up. They keep serving. They keep believing that government can and should work for the American people.

There are no good reasons to support how this administration has attacked federal workers. NO facts to back up the lies that are being told about them. They've been called "the swamp" and many other derogatory names, but they continue to deliver for the American people despite all the challenges they face. They care deeply about serving their communities and making people's lives better.

We have amazing people in this country who dream of being able to change the world and help others. We need those people in the civil service. The federal government should be the place where talented Americans can dedicate their careers to serving their country, not a place they avoid out of fear of being abused and discarded.

We can fix this. We can rebuild and strengthen the civil service. We can make federal service attractive to keep the best and brightest workers today and the next generation of public servants. We can restore Americans' faith in their government.

But it's going to take all of us: Congress, federal employees, unions, and the American people standing together and demanding better.

I believe we can do it. And I look forward to working with all of you to make it happen.

Thank you.