Hoyer comes out against two-year federal pay freeze

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has joined a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) opposing President Obama's proposal for a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers.

The Dec. 6 letter asks that any pay freeze be limited to fiscal 2011 and that any pay adjustments beyond that be left to the next Congress "where federal pay can be considered in the context of a more comprehensive approach to deficit reduction."

The Office of Management and Budget has submitted bill text to House Appropriations to implement the pay freeze. It is to be included in a continuing resolution to fund the government through fiscal 2011, a bill House Democrats may move as soon as Wednesday.

The letter was signed by members of the Maryland and Virginia delegations as well as District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). Reps. James Moran (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Donna Edwards (D-Md.) and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) also signed the letter.

They wrote that "we do not believe civil servants should be unfairly targeted," and said Bureau of Labor Statistics show that federal employees are paid less that private sector counterparts, contrary to Republican claims they are overpaid.

Democrats have been arguing Obama gave away a negotiating chit in agreeing to a federal pay freeze without extracting any concessions from Republicans on deficit reduction.