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    GOP proposes changing federal worker pensions

    By JOAN LOWY | Associated Press – Wed, Feb 8, 2012

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal employees would pay more toward their pensions and new employees would receive less generous retirement benefits under a House Republican plan to pay for highway programs.

    The proposal, posted online Wednesday by the House Rules Committee, is intended to help make up a shortfall between federal gasoline tax revenues and the $260 billion that Republicans want to spend on highway construction and transit programs over the next four and a half years.

    Under the proposal, the pension contributions of federal employees would increase a total of 1.5 percent over three years. New employees' retirement benefits would be calculated based on an average of an employee's past five years of earnings, instead of the current three years, among other changes. The savings to the government would be about $40 billion over 10 years, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office in December of similar legislation.

    Members of Congress would also have to contribute more to their pensions.

    Federal employee pay has already been frozen for two years to save money. The government is the nation's largest employer, with about 2 million civilian employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 85 percent of those work outside the Washington, D.C., metro area.

    Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, called the proposal "a gratuitous attack on the public servants who protect our borders, safeguard our air and food supply and look after our life savings."

    Republicans have been scratching for a means to pay for popular highway programs because revenue from the federal 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax and 22.4 cents-per-gallon diesel tax has been declining and is no longer sufficient to cover spending. Revenue from the taxes goes to a trust fund for highway and transit programs.

    Congress could resolve the highway program shortfall by increasing fuel taxes, but lawmakers of both parties are reluctant to raise any taxes, especially in a slow economy and during an election year.

    "Using revenues unrelated to transportation undercuts the user-pays principle that our transportation system is based upon and fails to ensure the long-term viability of the nation's transportation program," said Erich Zimmerman, a policy analyst with Taxpayers for Common Sense, a federal budget watchdog group.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Sam Hananel in Washington contributed to this report.

     
    • John
      John  •  Piney Flats, Tennessee  •  3 mths ago
      Maybe Congress and all others in high levels of the federal govt should pony up something for their fantastic bennies. Quit taking away from the little guys.
    • Louis
      Louis  •  Akron, Ohio  •  3 mths ago
      Should there be a change in federal workers pensions, there MUST also be a significant change in the pensions of all members of Congress. Right now members of Congress receive a full pension, even if they only serve one term as a Representative or Senator. Nice of you can get it.
      • RickD
        RickD 3 mths ago
        Congress habitually exempts themselves from most of the laws they enact. They consider themselves the elite class set well above us commoners. We have an imperial gov't exempt from or above the realism of the rest of the counrty. They get a gold plated health plan for life. They should be forced to use the Obamacare plan they enacted.
    • JustTheFactsPlease
      JustTheFactsPlease  •  Spokane, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      Have they looked closely at their own benefits???
    • Winston
      Winston  •  Stone Mountain, Georgia  •  3 mths ago
      GOP is not talking about politicians, they are talking about cooks, truck drivers, soldiers, and the common workers. I bet they give themselves a raise again it they can pull this off.
    • Tom
      Tom  •  Pocatello, Idaho  •  3 mths ago
      For crying out loud! Most of those people these guys want to screw over are at least working for a living. If Congress wants to make a difference, cut the benifits that Congress keeps giving themselves. It's popular to say they're cutting spending by freezing federal employee's wages and cutitng their pensions...that way the general public gets the impression these guys are in it right along side the rest of us. Problem is, MOST of these federal employees are just working guys working actual jobs, day in and day out...just like the rest of us. Freeze Congressional pay raises and reduce THEIR pensions and retirement "benifits". I guarantee it would save this country millions and millions.
      • libs can pack sand
        libs can pack sand 3 mths ago
        you idiot, they are talking about themselves also
      • votem out
        votem out 3 mths ago
        o wise one from florida would you show me where it says they are included? i think you may have already packed to much sand.
      • Tom
        Tom 3 mths ago
        Are you for real, Sand man?? Not ONCE has Congress ever included themselves in any of this smoke screen! Look at the record. I can't find ONE sitting Congress in the last 20 years that has not voted to either increase their own pay or, at the very least, exempt themselves from freezes and cuts in benifits. Not ONE...regardless of which party is in power.

        Just for the record....idiot.....I usually vote republican, but if it looks like dog s**t and smells like dog s**t, I call it dog s**t. Don't just post a blind defense of someone because of their party. It helps you look stupid.
    • steveR
      steveR  •  Altoona, Pennsylvania  •  3 mths ago
      Better idea; Cut congressional salaries and benefits and base their pensions on the same rules as fror other federal employees.
      • cocheta
        cocheta 3 mths ago
        Unfortunately, they are under the same rules for pensions as other federal employees.
      • james
        james 3 mths ago
        I agree cut congress and senate pensions.
      • A Yahoo! User 3 mths ago
        Fire the bumds.
    • VM
      VM  •  3 mths ago
      GOP attacking the Working Class, again! Bad enough the Middle Class is just about gone and salaries have been reduced, along with retirement setbacks with all the freezes on payrolls, affecting years to come for workers. But, heavens NO the GOP won't allow a tax increase for millions/billionaires (which really wouldn't get them even close to the percentage individual workers pay out of their checks in taxes) or cuts to all the tax loopholes enjoyed by the wealthy and big businesses. Heavens no," the wealthy deserve special treatment," says the GOP. They produce no good-jobs, benefits or contributions to America's debt (eg bush jr's iraq war debt=$800,000,000,000) for the individual tax cuts but GOP says that's Ok.
    • TOO OLD
      TOO OLD  •  3 mths ago
      Notice how they insured that their pensions and perks were kept safe from any of this.
    • Michael S
      Michael S  •  Dayton, Ohio  •  3 mths ago
      How about an increase in Congressmen's contributions, and a decrease in what they receive for their pensions? Or maybe just eliminate their special program and roll them into the federal employee plan?

      the reason there is no money to pay for things is that there are not enough workers paying taxes, because all the jobs have been moved overseas. This was done to increase the profits for the CEOs and top stock holders (the top 1%). How about a tax on all CEO's who employ overseas workers?
    • tim
      tim  •  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma  •  3 mths ago
      The only federal employees this doesn't affect are the house and senate members who have already paved their path to retirement in gold. Shame on them, do they have any sense of decency? Cut your own pensions and other over the top benefits and stop pork barrell spending in america and then you may have the right to worry about others retirement funds.
    • CHIEF BRODY
      CHIEF BRODY  •  3 mths ago
      Why doesn't Congress cut their own pay, benes and perks as well?
    • royv
      royv  •  3 mths ago
      love the double standard. focus on workers while ignoring congressional salaries/raises/benefits. if congress wants to increase tax revenue or create new taxes how about taxing political parties.
    • Beer!
      Beer!  •  3 mths ago
      Did I miss , the part where the congress would have to start paying for HC like other fedral workers and the private sector workers and pay more into their retirements ?
    • john a
      john a  •  Coldwater, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      lets start with congress no retirement other than ssi
    • Michael
      Michael  •  Tucson, Arizona  •  3 mths ago
      They are not talking about Congressional retirement you fool. They are talking about "EMPLOYEES". They would never consider taking the hit themselves.
    • Randy
      Randy  •  Eau Claire, Wisconsin  •  3 mths ago
      They're federal employees too so I assume the same policy should apply to them and Judges...they should also have to take the same mandatory, quarterly, drug tests that they are demanding for the peons who get government assistance.
    • killer
      killer  •  3 mths ago
      Does that mean that the GOP is also going to propose that all members of Congress adopt the same federal pension plan as the rank and file federal employee and make the same contributions? Or is this another example of how the GOP wants to transfer some more of the nation's wealth from the working class to the rich?
    • Everett
      Everett  •  Arlington, Virginia  •  3 mths ago
      Why should federal employees have a better retirement system than the rest of us?
      Does it ever occur to people that one reason past Congresses have raided the Social Security Trust Fund is that federal employees have a separate (but better) pension plan?
    • antigov
      antigov  •  Las Vegas, Nevada  •  3 mths ago
      And with 5 years of service a congressman will get their full pension. Anyone ever hear of such a thing?
    • Rasser
      Rasser  •  3 mths ago
      The congress are federal workers. If they don't change their own pensions at the same time, that will just go to prove that they believe they are an entitled class, and that the rules they apply to others don't apply to them.
     Post a comment
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