Federal workers say the upcoming spending cuts will be a thorn in their side but they think the pain will stop short at losing their jobs. “It appears as though they’re trying to balance the budget on the backs of federal employees,” said Gerald Alston, who has spent 34 years at the Environmental Protection Agency and is two years away from retirement.
Alston said he doesn’t fear for his job, but some nonessential testing programs are getting cut and a three-year salary freeze has him frustrated.
“I deserve a pay raise, just because the cost of living goes up,” he said.
Others are annoyed about cuts like no business travel and being stuck with the same old computer programs for another year.
Congress’ special cost-cutting committee, which has not been appointed, is tasked with slashing the federal deficit by a mammoth $1.5 trillion or more over the next decade. But the uncertainty caused this year by the near government shutdown and the last-minute deal to raise the United States’ debt limit has frozen spending.
Many federal employees said the atmosphere has all but halted new hires, which means more work for current employees. And although many have been through this before, some have reached their limit.
“I just don’t think that [Congress] can relate to federal employees,” said Bob Koston, a longtime U.S. Agency for International Development employee. “‘We’re not taking payroll reductions yet — when they start addressing reducing the payroll, people will worry.”
