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WASHINGTON – The cuts to federal pay and benefits contemplated Wednesday by a House committee would be devastating to middle-class families around the country and break the promises made to them in exchange for their public service, according to the National Treasury Employees Union.

“Apparently mass layoffs and gutting government isn’t enough and now those in power are determined to inflict further economic harm on the federal workforce,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald. “Cutting their take-home pay and shrinking their retirement benefits threatens the retirement they have earned and undercuts the ability of agencies to recruit and hire the next generation of talent needed to serve the American people.”

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a Republican plan to cut spending by making it harder for federal employees to pay their bills and retire with dignity.

Since 2010, Congress has twice increased employee contributions to the federal retirement program, essentially cutting workers’ take-home pay. Now the committee wants to do it again, without a corresponding increase in retirement benefits. Federal employees on average earned 24.72 percent less in 2024 than workers in similar private sector jobs, according to government data released by the Federal Salary Council. And this year, they are paying on average 13.5 percent more for health insurance than they did in 2024.

“Federal employees have already paid their fair share and tightened their belt. Yet Congress keeps coming back for more, even amid widespread firings, deferred resignations, and ongoing threats to career civil servants,” Greenwald said.

Federal employees have been singled out for cost-cutting in recent years and have already shouldered more than $20 billion in cost savings through increased retirement contributions, and more than $182 billion overall from combined pension contributions, pay cuts, and unpaid furlough days.

Another proposal would eliminate the annuity supplement for federal employees who retire before they are eligible for Social Security, breaking yet another promise to federal employees who have planned for their transition into retirement. NTEU also opposes changing the Federal Employee Retirement System pension calculation from the highest three years of annual salary to the highest five years because it would lower the amount an employee collects throughout their retirement.

Greenwald sent a letter to members of the House committee objecting to the reconciliation package, including provisions attacking the employment and workplace rights of federal employees.

“Federal employees have dedicated their careers to serving the nation, and they deserve Congress’s support and gratitude; not policies that break promises and erode their rights,” the letter states.

NTEU represents employees in 37 federal agencies and offices.