Peninsula Daily News news services
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has announced a two-year pay freeze for federal employees, saying the step is necessary to help bring the federal deficit under control.
The freeze would apply to all civilian federal employees but would exclude military personnel.
Obama says the sacrifices of limiting government spending must be shared by government workers.
The White House says the freeze would save $5 billion over two years. By delaying wage increases, the freeze would save $28 billion over the next five years, the White House says.
The chairmen of Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission proposed a three-year freeze in pay for most federal employees as part of its plan to reduce the nation’s growing deficit. The commission’s final report is due to be released later this week.
The president’s announcement will effectively wipe out plans for a 1.4 percent across-the-board raise for most of the 2.1 million federal government employees in 2011.
The president has frozen the salaries of his own top White House staff members since taking office 22 months ago.
To read more — http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/us/politics/30freeze.html?emc=na
