12/1/11: Yesterday, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced legislation to offset the cost of extending payroll tax reductions by freezing federal pay for a total of five years and instituting a 1 for 3 replacement cap on federal hiring.  The Senate may consider this proposal as soon as tomorrow.  Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has a bill, S. 1917, which would offset the cost of extending the payroll tax cut by increasing taxes on millionaires.  That bill will also likely be considered as early as tomorrow.

NTEU has sent this attached letter to every senator strongly opposing Senator Heller’s bill, S. 1931.  We pointed out that federal employees are already under a two-year pay freeze and that they are struggling with increased health care costs and unemployed family members just like other middle class families.  We also pointed out that federal agencies are already under hiring freezes and allowing only one employee to be replaced for every three that leave the workforce will make it impossible for agencies to deliver the services American taxpayers want and deserve.  We urged senators not to single out one group of middle class workers — federal employees — to pay for a tax cut for the rest of the middle class, while the wealthiest Americans continue to be exempt from even the smallest sacrifice to help our troubled economy.  We also urged senators to address the unfairness of the current payroll tax cut proposals that would provide no relief to CSRS-covered employees who do not pay into Social Security by providing them with an equivalent tax credit.

NTEU will be working hard to make sure this unfair and unwise proposal does not pass the Senate.  To get more information on this issue and to see what you can do, go to www.capwiz.com/nteu.