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Federal Daily News

Federal retirement measures included in transportation bill


Federal retirement system reforms have been inserted into a transportation bill to offset the cost of that legislation—a move that has incensed at least one federal labor leader.

The Securing Annuities for Federal Employees Act (H.R. 3813), approved this week by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has been included as part of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 7). Sponsors intend to use savings generated by the SAFE Act to cover costs contained in the transportation bill. The bill was posted online by the House Rules Committee.

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley was quick to express indignation over the move. According to a release issued by union, Kelley was “appalled that the House Republican leadership would break pension promises made to federal workers years ago to fund a transportation bill.”

The SAFE Act generates savings by increasing federal employees’ pension contributions, eliminating the Federal Employees Retirement System supplement for employees who take early non-mandatory retirement, and changing pension formulas for new employees.

“Why look to highway trust funds and gas taxes to fix crumbling roads and bridges when you can find the funding by reneging on federal pension commitments and cut federal pay?” Kelley said in a statement.


 

Reader comments

Wed, Feb 15, 2012

Congress seems to forget that federal employees vote too.

Mon, Feb 13, 2012

I have worked for over 35 years for the federal government; and when I retire I won't be making that much in retirement; I couldn't get promoted even just once in those 35 years because of discrimination, but I hung in there because I thought there would be inprovement, yeah, improvement for the worse; the peter principle works excellently in federal government; it isn't what you know but who you know; it doesn't pay to be honest; I have even been told that the agency I work for that most of the employees are welfare recipients!!! Now that is really bad definition. As I have always said "if I knew then what I know now, I would have never worked for this agency; it is the sorries place to work in; it is no wonder so many people I know decided to leave; the latest news I was told that an employee's retirement had been attempted to be trashed; i.e., that she wouldn't be able to retire because she exposed the corruption in the agency; how disgraceful; thankfully, she filed a complaint and won!!!! Stop send our tax money to foreign countries; the money just goes ino the corrupt officials' pockets!! And, pray, tell what happened to the $3.3B allocated to the Pentagon for reconstruction projects in Iraq? Would you think "kick backs"?

Mon, Feb 13, 2012

I just seems to me that working isn't the key to this country anymore. If Congress keeps taking from our retirement then the people that have worked for 20+ years did it all for almost nothing. Why doesn't Congress back off from sending the American dollars overseas and trying to help the foreigners? Why not try and help the American people first?

Mon, Feb 13, 2012 Chris Ohio

rob peter to pay paul ... it has become the congressional way. This whole process is going to implode...no way out of that. Just look to local and school taxes where it is not hidden as it is in the federal tax system. Local taxes...when 1.5% is not enough, they ask for 2.0, 2.0 not enought 2.5...and so on. At some point down the road...2.5 becomes 3, then 4, then 5, then 6...it never ends. Tax INCREASE should come from one source and one source only, PAY INCREASES .. not percentage increases.

Mon, Feb 13, 2012 Angry Fed FL

Cowards! Bury the cuts to our retirement in another bill and hope no one will notice. Soooo typical. When will this stop? And I, like one other commentor, thought the idea was to REDUCE spending? This would do nothing but play the same old shell game and smile about it while the fed workers take it in the shorts again! I say again...COWARDS!

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