Federal pay and benefits could change with new Congress

Govexec.com - In recent months, there's been a lot of talk about proposed hiring and pay freezes and mandatory furloughs in the federal government. But those ideas could become reality if Republicans on Tuesday win the necessary 39 seats to gain control of the House.

House Republicans unveiled their Pledge to America in September, promising to reduce the size of government and freeze hiring for all nonsecurity-related federal positions. Lawmakers in both chambers also have pushed several measures that would affect federal jobs and benefits. For example, Republicans have introduced legislation that would furlough all federal civilian workers for up to two weeks in 2011 and make those with outstanding tax debts ineligible for continued government employment. Bills in both chambers would cap the federal workforce through attrition or by allowing agencies to hire only one employee for every two employees who leave.

In addition, GOP lawmakers have used the YouCut program to push federal workforce reductions. The initiative, designed to control government spending, allows the public to vote online, or via text message each week on legislative proposals. The winning idea goes to the House floor.

Postal Union Withdraws Endorsement of Congressman Darrell Issa

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GOP Rep. ISSA: Time for another government bailout - USPS

The predicament in which USPS finds itself is not uncommon. Because of the ever-increasing reach of the Internet and digital media, bookstores, record stores and DVD rental chains have all seen their customer base and profits decline dramatically. Unlike these other affected businesses, USPS cannot simply go out of business or declare bankruptcy. The need to downsize the labor force and reduce costs to reflect declining demand and new market conditions needs to be the first priority of both workers and management

Washington Times