RESPONSE to S.644

Joseph A. Beaudoin, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), released the following statement:

“This bill is another unfair and unwise attack on federal employees at a time when the country desperately needs a high quality and vigilant work force. Some politicians claim that these pensions are unsustainable, but, in actuality, the federal pension program is fully funded, actuarially sound and paid for largely by federal employees themselves.

“Changes to policies that affect federal employees threaten the future of the vital services they perform. Without employment packages that are competitive in the professional marketplace, our government will struggle to attract the best workers to protect us.

“Considering the importance of the federal meat inspectors in Kansas who ensure our food is safe or the U.S. nuclear regulators who now are working in Japan to avert a nuclear catastrophe, we can ill-afford to shy away from support for our nation’s federal workers.”