Norton Releases Remarks from American Federation of Government Employees Legislative Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released her remarks from today’s address to the American Federation of Government Employees Legislative Conference.
Norton’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery follow.
Remarks of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
AFGE Conference Remarks
February 10, 2025
I am pleased to be here with you today. I am a strong supporter of government employees, collective bargaining and labor unions, and I am especially proud of our federal and District of Columbia government employees. I appreciate the work you do every day.
Unfortunately, we are meeting at an unprecedented and extraordinarily difficult time for federal employees. The Trump administration and the shadow Musk government seem intent on dismantling much of the federal government, in violation of the Constitution, statutes and regulations. The administration has relentlessly attacked federal employees, subjecting them to chaos and fear. It has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, imposed a hiring freeze, offered deferred resignation, fired employees, put employees on leave, effectively reestablished Schedule F, and ended telework and remote work.
The administration is not alone in attacking federal employees. This Congress, a senator has introduced bills to relocate at least thirty percent of headquarters employees outside the D.C. region and to relocate non-security headquarters outside the D.C. region. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, on which I serve, has held two hearings, and both were designed to demonize federal employees. As I said at the first hearing, federal employees deserve praise for their expertise, dedication and service – not derision.
The actions by the administration and Republicans in Congress are designed to gut the federal workforce and to convert a significant portion of the remaining civil service into political appointees. Depriving the federal government of their expertise and experience will harm the services that the government provides to all Americans.
Although Democrats are in the minority in the House and Senate, which means Democrats do not control the committees or floor in either chamber, Democratic colleagues and I will use all the legislative, oversight, litigation and communication tools at our disposal to fight back against the Trump administration.
Democrats are also working to expand the rights and benefits of federal employees. For example, my Federal Employee Pay Compression Relief Act would allow federal employees who reach the pay cap in their pay system to receive the base and locality pay adjustments they would otherwise be entitled to. I also have introduced a bill that would create an Inspector General for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which administers the Thrift Savings Plan. I introduced this bill after widespread problems occurred when the Board launched a new online TSP system. My RECOVER Act would require the Office of Personnel Management to make permanent the free identity protection coverage that Congress required OPM to provide to individuals whose Social Security Numbers were potentially compromised during the 2015 data breaches.
I am also a cosponsor of several bills to support federal employees, including the Equal Cost of Living Adjustment Act, which would make the annual cost of living adjustment for both the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employee Retirement System the equivalent to the Consumer Price Index; the Fair Adjustment of Income Rates Act, which would provide federal employees with a 4.3 percent pay increase next year; and the Saving the Civil Service Act, which would prevent the reclassification of federal positions outside the competitive service without the express consent of Congress.
I would like to end my remarks by thanking AFGE for its support of my D.C. statehood bill. This bill would give the more than 700,000 D.C. residents voting representation in Congress and full local self-government. In recent Congresses, we made historic progress on the D.C. statehood bill. In 2020, the House passed the bill, which was the first time in history either chamber of Congress had passed the bill. The House passed it again in 2021. When I reintroduced the bill on the first day of this Congress, I did so with 159 original cosponsors, which was the most original cosponsors of any bill introduced that day. Since then, I have added more cosponsors, and we now have 176 cosponsors. The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Senator Chris Van Hollen, was introduced this Congress with 40 original cosponsors.
Thank you again for having me. I will continue to stand with AFGE and federal employees.
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