House GOP Votes to Protect Millionaires, Increase Costs for Postal, Federal Workers

House Republicans won’t allow taxes on millionaires to go up, but they do agree on one thing: Postal and federal employees should pay more.

A bill passed by House Republicans on Dec. 20 would require postal and federal employees to pay five percent more toward our retirement plans beginning in 2013 over the next five years. If enacted, employees hired in 2013 would begin paying the extra five percent immediately. The Spending Reduction Act passed the House by a vote of 215-209.

“These politicians have demonstrated time and again who they serve — the richest one percent,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “They believe middle-class government employees should sacrifice five percent of our earnings so that millionaires and billionaires don’t have to pay a nickel more,” he said.

Fortunately, the bill has little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. The White House also opposes the legislation.

The bill also would end the FERS supplemental annuity for postal and federal employees hired beginning in 2013. The FERS annuity supplement is paid in addition to gross monthly Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuity benefits who retire before reaching age 62. It represents what retirees would receive for FERS civilian service from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and is calculated as if the retirees were eligible to receive SSA benefits on the day they retired.

The APWU and other postal and federal unions opposed the measure.