No one should be shocked at this. There are many ways to reduce the number of federal employees. Attrition is one. Some elections have more consequences then others.
Warnings Sounded on Impact of Funding Bills on Federal Workforce
www.fedweek.com/fedweek/warnings-sounded-on-impact-of-funding-bills-on-federal-workforce/Federal employees could face layoffs, hiring freezes or furloughs under the GOP-crafted spending bills now advancing in the House, say congressional Democrats who are consistently voting against those bills.
House Republicans are moving the regular appropriations bills for the new fiscal year with the goal of having all 12 passed through that chamber before Congress recesses in early August until early September. With the exception of the bill for DoD, those bills generally set overall spending levels well below the 1 percent growth target in the law enacted last year staving off a default on the national debt. While providing a larger increase for DoD, the measure for that department too calls for tighter scrutiny of civilian employment levels there.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not started releasing its own bills, but they are expected to be far apart from the House bills, making it likely Congress will have to temporarily extend funding past the start of fiscal 2025 in October before sorting out the differences. That panel’s chair, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has said she will insist that any increase on the defense side be matched by increases for other agencies.
Even a 1 percent increase for nondefense funding “doesn’t mean treading water—it means painful tradeoffs and cuts, underinvestment in our nation’s future, and the prospect of cuts to key services for the American people,” according to a fact sheet she released.
She said that even that increase:
* “would force reduced services and staffing at parks and even force rolling closures at some national parks. Seasonal staffing at our national parks is already over 20% lower than it was pre-pandemic. All park staffing is 10% lower than it was pre-pandemic—and 25% lower than it was in 2010. Without new resources, parks will be forced to trim back further, temporarily close visitors’ centers, and more.”
* “will not maintain current staffing at an agency responsible for administering Social Security benefits . . . basic services for Americans who have earned benefits will continue to worsen, and SSA could be forced to close field offices or reduce hours that offices are open to the public.”
* “could require DOJ to furlough attorneys, agents, intelligence analysts, and other personnel since a 1% increase in funding is still significantly below what is needed to maintain current services. DOJ could lose or freeze 4,800 positions in this scenario.”
* “could require the FBI to reduce its workforce by 1,350 positions . . .” Reduced personnel at the FBI means less capacity to go after transnational criminal organizations, fentanyl traffickers, violent crime, cyber attackers, and so much more.”
* “could require layoffs of meat inspectors at the Food Safety and Inspection Service, which needs an additional $27 million to maintain current staffing. Without meat inspectors onsite, meat processing plants cannot run—hurting our nation’s meat supply and affecting food prices for consumers.”
* “will not sustain critical pay raises for federal firefighters battling blazes and keeping communities safe. Maintaining and building upon the much-needed pay increase for brave wildland firefighters is the right thing to do—and it’s critical to addressing staffing challenges as more than a quarter of the Forest Service’s wildland firefighting jobs are currently vacant.”
* “would prevent the FAA from hiring more air traffic controllers while the agency is already short 3,000 controllers needed for full staffing.”
* “will likely force the Consumer Product Safety Commission to lose additional staff responsible for protecting consumers from unsafe products.”
