1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

The proposed House budget plan aims to significantly reduce federal spending, which could put federal employee retirement and health insurance benefits on the chopping block. Potential cuts include requiring all FERS employees to contribute 4.4% of salary towards retirement, eliminating the FERS annuity supplement for early retirees, basing annuities on the highest 5 years of salary instead of 3, and shifting to a flat-rate voucher system for health insurance where the government's share grows more slowly than premiums. These measures would substantially erode the value of benefits that federal workers have earned and relied upon. Federal employment already lags behind the private sector in many areas of compensation. Further reductions would make recruitment and retention of a talented workforce even more challenging for agencies. I urge you to reject proposals that would unfairly target federal employee retirement and health benefits as a way to reduce spending. Instead, we should explore other options that do not break promises to the civil service or jeopardize the government's ability to maintain an effective workforce.