Groundhog Day was Fun – Washington’s Sequels Are Terrible and Need to End
As the clock once again ticks ever closer to another fiscal year cliff – the expiration of the latest continuing resolution (CR) on December 11, and the potential government shutdown it would bring – we are reminded of the movie Groundhog Day. That beloved classic, where Bill Murray’s Phil Connors lives the same day over and over, is oft referenced in Washington, D.C., frequently when discussing appropriations, because Congress continually brings government funding to – or past – a lapse of funding. Regrettably Fiscal Year 2021, which began 69 days ago, is no different, and the entire workforce is operating under a CR that expires mere days from now.
We at FMA are infuriated to be in yet another CR. Doing the equivalent of stacking up a few billion dollars and setting fire to it because you can’t come to an agreement on funding the government when you’re already more than two months into the fiscal year is what some might call “sub-optimal,” and others might call “an abandonment of their constitutionally mandated responsibilities.” The government and the military cannot plan or budget effectively, start new projects, or easily adjust to changing circumstances during a CR. Because of this, costs are far higher than they need to be, and the government is less efficient and adaptive. And the costs and lost resources of even preparing for a shutdown, even if it doesn’t come to pass, are wasted taxpayer dollars.
But, much like how we might prefer having a foot run over by a Honda Civic instead of an eighteen-wheeler, a CR is better than a shutdown. If a shutdown comes to pass, conditions will be far worse. Critical projects and business will suffer. Millions of people who depend on federal programs will suffer. Federal employees devoting their careers to serving the public will struggle to make rent or mortgage payments, to pay for groceries, take care of aging parents, or handle other necessary expenses. These are problems every time Congress and the administration take feds to the brink of a shutdown, but they loom even worse during a global pandemic.
This brings us to the subject of proposal of a pay freeze for feds, offered by the Senate last month and now supported by the administration. We’ve heard the rationale for a pay freeze is “pandemic-related impacts.” That is not only callous, it is totally devoid of reality. The reality is the pandemic should be a further justification for a pay raise, even the bare minimum of 1 percent, as President Trump proposed in February. People are hurting, and a pay freeze only hurts them more.
FMA continues to call for the traditional pay parity with the uniformed military – 3 percent for 2021, as provided for in the National Defense Authorization Act. Throughout the pandemic, feds have answered the call of duty, at personal risk to themselves, protecting national security, repairing airplanes and ships, improving readiness, processing tax returns and Social Security payments, caring for our veterans, protecting our environment and food supply, and countless other services on behalf of all Americans. They have not wavered in the face of the pandemic and deserve to be recognized and compensated fairly.
A pay freeze adds insult to the injury of a CR, particularly for those paying back the payroll tax deferral they had no choice to opt out of. First, the Senate did nothing on appropriations until almost six weeks into the fiscal year. But adding a pay freeze, weeks before the new calendar year, was a double whammy, to quote FMA National President Craig Carter.
In a press release, Carter wrote, “Given the many areas where cost-savings could be found, starting with no longer relying on continuing resolutions, or subjecting our country to government shutdowns with billions of dollars lost each time, it saddens me that pay cuts for federal employees seem to be the first place many in Congress look for so-called savings. It is well past time that members of Congress and the administration recognize and value the hard work of feds and treat them with the respect they deserve, starting with a wage that keeps up with inflation.”
FMA is hard at work on preparing our 2021 issue briefs in preparation for the new year and the 117th Congress. We will once again include a brief that essentially urges Congress to do its job and provide funding in a timely manner. It is our fervent hope to leave Groundhog Day to the movies and for legislators and the administration to work together to fund the government on time.
The views reflected in this column are those of FMA and do not necessarily represent the views of FEDmanager. To learn more about the Federal Managers Association (FMA), visit their website: FedManagers.org.