April 5, 2025
 
The latest Senate-approved budget framework could lead to cuts in federal pay and benefits.
 
Early this morning, the U.S. Senate approved a new budget resolution by a vote of 51 to 48. Democrats all opposed the measure and offered several amendments to push back on agency RIFs, DOGE cuts and attacks on federal employees and collective bargaining. While none of those amendments were adopted, Republican Senators Collins (R-ME) and Murkowski (R-AK) did support some of them, including an amendment to prohibit attacks on federal employees and protect our contracts and right to organize.  
 
This resolution is the next step in the budget reconciliation process which allows Congress to consider certain and specified changes in law to align spending, revenue, and the debt limit with agreed-upon budget targets with a simple majority vote. To do that, the resolution gives specific committees “reconciliation instructions” that include a dollar amount in spending cuts or increases that each committee will need to satisfy. This allows committees to make very broad changes across all areas in their jurisdiction.
 
Unlike the previous budget resolution that passed the Senate earlier this year, this version includes the House-passed instruction to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to cut $50 billion in spending. This is of particular concern because the only area they have jurisdiction over with significant spending authority is federal employee pay and benefits. Some options they are considering to make these cuts include: 

• Cutting the pay of employees hired before 2014 by increasing their FERS contributions to 4.4%.
• Eliminating the FERS supplemental retirement payments.
• Reducing the FERS benefit by basing it on an employee’s highest average salary over five years instead of three.
• Increasing employee health care costs or reducing health care coverage by turning the FEHB Program into a voucher program.
• Making federal employees pay more for FERS in exchange for maintaining civil service rights.
• Busting unions by requiring them to pay for the use of official time. 

While this provision is the same as the one that passed the House earlier this year, there are still many differences that need to be resolved, so the resolution now moves to the House for further consideration. We will continue to work with our allies to push back on these draconian, anti-worker proposals and fight to protect your pay and benefits.
 
Click here to urge your members of Congress to fight to protect federal employee benefits — and make sure to share this link with your colleagues, family and friends! 
 
Doreen P. Greenwald
National President