On February 8, Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.) gave praise to federal workers on separate occasions. Both Members of Congress called for greater recognition of federal workers and the work they do on a daily basis for their fellow Americans. Federal employees are under seeming constant criticism against their livelihoods. With sequestration impending in March, lawmakers have been looking where cuts can be taken to avoid across-the-board cuts. While the civil service has already contributed over $100 billion in deficit reduction, Members of the House and Senate have called for further sacrifices from the federal workforce.

Speaking in front of the National Institutes of Health, Senator Cardin commented on the need for federal employees to put a face to the deep cuts set to come with sequestration. “The reason the public workforce is under attack is because it’s an attack on government. It’s not an attack on what you do, so go out there and say what you do,” the Senator stated. “You’re real people. You have real lives. You’ve got families, and you’re on the front lines of public service,” he further added.

Representative Wolf also spoke out in favor of the federal workforce. In a letter to his fellow Republican colleagues, Rep. Wolf spoke out against H.R. 273, a bill extending the federal pay freeze. “This bill is nothing more than a political stunt that targets the hardworking, dedicated men and women of the civil service, who have already had their salaries frozen for more than two years. Everyone knows they are an easy target. But we are kidding ourselves if we think we can balance the budget on the backs of federal employees,” he stated. Rep. Wolf concluded his letter, “I know that these patriotic Americans are willing to do more, but they rightly expect all of us to fully join in this effort.”

For more information, please visit: www.cardin.senate.gov and www.wolf.house.gov.