Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.-14) issued the following statement after voting for H.R. 273, which passed the House on Friday and would block the automatic pay increase for federal employees this year:
“A lot of Georgians are still hurting in this economy, and it would be an insult for those with taxpayer-funded salaries, including myself, to take an automatic pay raise. I recognize that many federal employees are hard-working middle class folks who do important jobs for our country, from the FBI agents who fight crime to the maintenance staff members who work late into the night. Those who excel in their duties can still earn merit or performance-based promotions within their agency’s current budget. However, with our massive national debt and weak economy, it doesn’t make sense to give an automatic raise to every single person who works for the federal government.”
The Congressional Budget Office projected that H.R. 273 would save taxpayers $11.9 billion over 10 years. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the bill would block President Obama’s Dec. 27, 2012, executive order for an automatic 0.5% pay raise for federal employees.
Legislation blocking the 2013 automatic pay increase for Members of Congress was already signed into law in January.