Lawmakers Want to Extend Pay Freeze for Congress, Federal Workers

Members of Congress will vote Wednesday to freeze their salaries through 2013 and impose the same pay limitation on non-military federal workers. The vote in the U.S. House comes just two days after the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that federal workers are paid 16 percent more in total compensation — a conclusion similar to research conducted by The Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute. “Study after study has shown that when compared to the private sector, the federal government on average pays more than required to recruit and retain a … More

Charging Fed Employees for Tenure Benefits a Better Way to Close Deficit


President Barack Obama wants to extend the temporary payroll tax cut into 2012, and congressional Democrats and Republicans agree. They disagree over how to pay for it. Democrats propose raising taxes on the financially successful. This would discourage potential entrepreneurs from starting new enterprises—not the best idea when job creation remains stuck near record lows. Republicans propose reducing the federal workforce by 10 percent and extending the President’s federal pay freeze for another three years. The GOP approach has many merits. Unlike tax increases, less government spending does not discourage … More