Norton to Testify for Democrats at Rules Committee in Opposition to Federal Employee Pay Freeze Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that Norton will testify at the Rules Committee on behalf of House Democrats in opposition to a bill (H.R. 273) that would extend the federal employee pay freeze through the rest of the year at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13, 2013. Consideration by the Rules Committee is the final step in the legislative process before House floor consideration.

"Federal workers have contributed more than $100 billion over the last two years to deficit reduction, more than their fair share," Norton said. "Freezing their pay for three years in a row amounts to an unnecessary, punishing cut in pay." Norton will also object that H.R. 273 skipped the traditional House process by going straight to the Rules Committee and then to the floor the following day, without first going to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where hearings should have occurred to investigate the effects of the freeze both on federal workers and on the federal budget. Norton is a senior member of the committee, which, among other things, has jurisdiction over federal workers, the postal service, and the District of Columbia.

Published: February 11, 2013