IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL WORKERS

On 2024-12-18, Representative Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-8) delivered a floor speech titled "IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL WORKERS" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered healthcare, the economy.

IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL WORKERS

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 188 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 188 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)] [House] [Pages H7329-H7330] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL WORKERS The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) for 5 minutes. Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of more than 2.3 million dedicated civil servants that make up our Federal workforce, including nearly 30,000 Federal employees who work in my own congressional district. As a former union president of Iron Workers Local 7, I am also proud to stand in solidarity with the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union, our postal employee unions, and over 30 other labor organizations that tirelessly advocate for fair wages, safe working conditions, and quality healthcare and pensions for our Federal workers. With less than 40 days until the Presidential Inauguration, the new Trump administration has already announced its intent to target and scapegoat Federal employees, all in the name of cost reduction while at the same time extending trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the richest Americans. This reflects a blatant disregard for the sacrifices made by Federal workers at the VA and elsewhere and the critical services that they deliver to the American people. According to President-elect Trump, America's Federal workforce is full of: deep-state rogue bureaucrats, crooked and dishonest people who are destroying this country and who are going to be held accountable. To this end, he is seeking to revive schedule F, a punitive employment classification that will strip career Federal employees of their due process rights and other statutory civil service protections. This new category would also pave the way for the administration to fire these nonpartisan workers at will and replace them with political loyalists. President-elect Trump has also recently announced the creation of a so-called Department on Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Commission, an unofficial advisory panel that would purportedly serve to dismantle the government bureaucracy. The co-chairs of this alleged department are two billionaires, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have vowed to conduct mass layoffs and employee relocations in order to reduce the size of Federal Government. As they tell it, most Federal employees don't even show up to work anyway. These unwarranted attacks against our Federal workforce only serve to perpetuate false narratives that greatly undermine the value of public service and undermine the morale and ability of Federal employees to deliver essential services to the American people. As former chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, I can attest that these Federal workers are not rogue bureaucrats or deep-state actors. Rather, many, many of them are patriotic military veterans. In fact, our Federal workforce consists of nearly 650,000 U.S. armed service veterans, or more than 30 percent of all Federal employees. In fact, the vast majority of Federal employees work in service to care for 18 million veterans and their families who are served and cared for by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which employees nearly 490,000 doctors, nurses, medical staff, social workers, and other healthcare professionals, caring for our Nation's veterans. {time} 1115 Our Federal workforce also consistently shows up to work, even during national emergencies, as reported by the Partnership for Public Service. Frontline Federal employees are deployed in the field nationwide as Border Patrol agents, food inspectors, postal workers, TSA officers, forest firefighters, FEMA disaster response personnel, clinical biologists, and other jobs that support public safety in times of crisis. According to the Office of Personnel Management, only 15 percent of Federal workers actually live in the D.C. area with 85 percent of Federal workers stationed in communities across our Nation. In stark contrast to President-elect Trump and his billionaire DOGE co-chairs, Federal employees are not looking to get rich. The Federal Salary Council reports that in 2024, Federal workers earned nearly 25 percent less on average than their private sector counterparts. Recent strikes by the autoworkers, UPS Teamsters, Kaiser healthcare personnel, and other private sector workers have resulted in historic and well- deserved wage increases, in some cases more than 20 percent. Meanwhile, to ensure the continuity of government services, Federal workers are expressly prohibited by statute from participating in a strike. They must stay on the job. Asserting the right to strike and even belonging to a union that asserts the right to strike against the Federal Government is a violation and a felony and punishable by imprisonment. In the interest of public safety, frontline Federal employees also stay on the job without pay for the duration of every government shutdown. Nevertheless, every Federal worker proudly takes an oath of office that reflects their commitment to our Nation, to public service, and dedication to carrying out their agency mission on behalf of the American people. Mr. Speaker, sadly, Elon Musk has even resorted to publicly naming Federal employees who he would like to fire on social media. Our Federal workforce deserves better. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in strong support of America's [[Page H7330]] Federal workers in the face of escalating threats on their service. ____________________