AFGE Urges Congress to Reject Deficit Commission Plan

Proposal targets working-class Americans while boosting coffers of wealthiest

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lawmakers should consider President Obama's deficit commission plan dead on arrival, after the misguided plan failed to win enough votes to force congressional action, the head of the largest federal employee union said today.

"This plan is built on fear, not hope. It relies on the same bad economic policies that have hurt working families, instead of making the changes needed to expand good-paying jobs in this country," American Federation of Government Employees National President John Gage said.

The deficit commission plan would cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and corporations while slashing Social Security and Medicare benefits that working-class Americans rely on to make ends meet, Gage said.

"It would do nothing to spur job growth and energize the economy. In fact, it would cut take-home pay for millions of workers while making the millionaires and Wall Street executives even richer," he said.

Most of the savings proposed in the plan would come from cutting spending on federal programs and services that Americans rely on every day, like veterans care, homeland security, law enforcement and public health programs. The plan also would slash the size of the federal work force by 200,000 jobs, freeze federal wages for three years and consider major reductions to civil service and military pensions.

"If these recommendations are enacted, it'll be a race to the bottom for American workers and their families," Gage said.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

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