Boehner Takes on Skyrocketing Federal Salaries

On Wednesday, a stark message for federal workers came from the incoming leader of the House of Representatives, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

"There ought to be a freeze on the hiring of new federal employees, and frankly, we ought to freeze the pay," said John Boehner.

Federal workers have been subjected to a serious case of salary envy, stoked by the struggling economy and analyses like this one in USA Today: While the economy's been shrinking, part of the federal workforce has gotten fatter. The number of federal workers earning more than $150,000 has doubled since January 2009. It's gone up tenfold in five years.

"The average federal worker makes twice as much as the average private-sector worker," Boehner said.

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Defenders of federal salaries say many of the highest-paid federal workers are in it to serve the public, not for the money.

"Over half of them are doctors and lawyers and nuclear engineers and people who could easily make more money elsewhere," said Max Stier, the president and CEO of Partnership for Public Service.

Federal worker Jessica Schwartz says she's one of them.

"I am an attorney, and I know that I get paid well below market price for attorneys with my experience," Schwartz said.

It might be hard to get sympathy from struggling Americans who've watched their tax dollars expand government salaries as they've had to tighten their belts. Longtime federal workers have averaged 25 percent pay hikes since 2005, far outpacing the 9 percent inflation rate.

Meantime, that government lawyer Jessica Schwartz may be underpaid. But she still makes a six figure salary - and is due for a raise.

"Technically I am supposed to get one this week," Schwartz said. "We'll see when I get next week's pay check if it's in there or not."

As speaker, Boehner will get a raise of more than $30,000 to earn more than $223,000 a year.

[kamwing12]

The Federal Government Never goes bankrupt! Anyone who works for them rarely has to compete. The quote that says: "Over half of them are doctors and lawyers and nuclear engineers and people who could easily make more money elsewhere" -That is a total lie! If it is so easy to work elsewhere, then why don't they? The last I read, there aren't so many vacant nuclear jobs. I bet no one talks about how cushy a federal job is with no possibility of layoffs or not making payroll. You don't have to worry about staying in business because the government will print more money! If you were a doctor or lawyer working in private practice or even corporations, you're subjected to the possibility of layoffs NO MATTER how skilled you are. Real doctors and lawyers and engineers have to compete in the market place whose pay may not be as cushy as Federal pay. For every 50 doctors/lawyer that graduates from school, only a few actually have a career. However, if you work for uncle sam, im sure all 50 doctors/lawyers could work there and they'll never have to worry about making payroll because the government never runs out of money unlike REAL businesses! If they're not in it for the money, then give them 150k, but tax them just enough so they can survive the cost of living. Then if they complain, then they are liars in the fact that they said they weren't in it for the money. Can anyone in government say they bring in revenue greater than or equal to their salary?

[kamwing12]

The Federal Government Never goes bankrupt! Anyone who works for them never has to compete. The quote that says: "Over half of them are doctors and lawyers and nuclear engineers and people who could easily make more money elsewhere" -That's a total lie! If it's so easy to work elsewhere, then why don't they? I bet no one talks about how cushy a federal job is with no possibility of layoffs or not making payroll. If you were a doctor or lawyer working in private practice or even corporations, you're subjected to the possibility of layoffs NO MATTER how skilled you are. Real doctors and lawyers and engineers have to compete in the market place whose pay isn't as cushy as Federal pay. For every 50 doctors/lawyer that graduates from school, only a few actually have a career. However, if you work for uncle sam, you'll never have to worry about making payroll because the government never runs out of money unlike REAL businesses! If they're not in it for the money, then give them 150k, but tax them at 50%. Then if they complain, then they're liars in the fact that they said they weren't in it for the money.

[ArlingtonHewes]

"The number of federal workers earning more than $150,000 has doubled since January 2009. It's gone up tenfold in five years."

Yes -- that sounds pretty shocking. Of course, nobody is bothering to mention the fact that almost all federal employees are subject to a pay cap that is set at the EX-IV level. By law (5 U.S.C. ?5304(g)(1)), base GS pay and locality pay combined cannot exceed Level IV of the Executive Schedule (EX-IV). In 2008 the EX-IV level was set at $149,000. In 2009 the EX-IV level was set at $153,200.

Naturtally, there are a number of Federal Employees that are up against the EX-IV pay cap. In 2008 they were earning under $150,000. In 2009 they were earning more than $150,000. Given those facts, is it really a big story that the number of Feds earning more than $150,000 doubled from 2008 to 2009? Is it surprising that, compared to 5 years ago, ten times as many Feds now earn over $150,000?

Don't take my word for it. The Congressional Research Service provided Congress with a report on this. I'm not sure where Mr. Boehner's copy went... http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/20024.pdf

[holalanemeir]

TAX LOBBYIST CONTRIBUTIONS!!!!

[jaydee79s]

If Congressman Boehner want to cut "BIG GOVERNMENT" then he should clean off his front porch first. His staff costs the taxpayers nearly $1 million per year, and the total bill for Congress is nearly $5.5 billion, which also includes their $200K quarterly bottled water bill...

"In the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, taxpayers are spending $5.42 billion to run the Second Branch of government. In fiscal year 2000, the same bill came in at $2.87 billion."

http://capitolnewsconnection.org/news/congress-operating-costs-skyrocket

[srichey321]

The Republicans are even more in the pocket of international corporate interests than democrats are.

http://dccc.org/newsroom/entry/fact_check_leader_john_boehner_outlines_republicans_disastrous_economic_pri/

FACT: Boehner Has Led The Fight to Protect Tax Breaks for Companies Who Ship American Jobs Overseas. Boehner led near unanimous Republican opposition to legislation that paid for protecting the jobs of police, firefighters, and teachers through closing tax loopholes that encourage companies to move American jobs overseas

[hellopanda65]

on top of it.. private companies are greedy and cash rich but do not compensate their workers appropriately... it is not the fault of the people but these COMPANIES need to value their employees

[hellopanda65]

I am a federal worker who works very hard and earned several degrees. At the same time, I disagree that we are getting paid more where I know people of the same level as I am in the private sector getting paid much higher with bonuses. At the same time, there are student loans and other obligations that many of these workers have in order to obtained their positions. We need to value our government workers because they help maintain and lead our nation.

[Clemster46]

I wonder if he will set a standard and not take his pay raise?

[levelheadedtoo]

The feds are no different than any big, out of control, company. To attract and retain good people you need to pay them the going rate. However, we can't use Wall Street income or pro sports as the measuring stick to pay people. Right now federal workers are not paid anywhere close to corporate standard. I would be interested in knowing what is driving Boehners comments. Now that he is " the man" we will see how good he is at working for all the people and not just the oil, banking, insurance and defense industry. By the way, those industries are know for paying some people more than $150K a year.