Moran Issues Statement on Republican Budget Proposal's Impact on Federal Employees

Congressman Jim Moran warned Wednesday that the Northern Virginia area could see a negative impact to its economy if a federal government shutdown occurs, which he gives a 50-50 percent of happening if there is no agreement by midnight Friday.

If debate on Capitol Hill over the federal debt ceiling or spending bills leads to the government shutdown that many fear, the majority of workers who make up the federal government payroll would likely be kept at home without pay.

There are more than 100,000 federal employees in the area made up of Fairfax and Arlington counties and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, according to the government consulting firm Eye on Washington, using figures from the Office of Personnel Management.

“This is crunch time, it’s very serious, this is not 1995 where the government closed down and everyone was fully reimbursed,” Moran said in a conference call with reporters, alluding to a 21-day government shutdown in December 1995 to January 1996. He says based on conversations with congressional colleagues, he doesn't think federal employees will see a reimbursement of their salary this time.

The shutdown could have “an extremely severe impact inside the Beltway,” Moran said. “This is still a company town. The federal government would be a shadow of what it is today. It will hurt the stores, the grocery stores, the restaurants…every private-sector element will be affected. They may not be aware of that now, but they will, especially if it lasts more than a couple of weeks.”

If some kind of agreement, either long-term or temporary, is not reached by midnight Friday, Moran said a shutdown could take place. To help answer questions from federal employees and constituents, Moran plans to hold a town hall meeting Thursday night, from 7:30-9 p.m. at Francis Hammond Middle School, 4646 Seminary Road, in Alexandria.

“We need to start preparing,” Moran said. “I’m not trying to be critical of the White House, but they’re putting 100 percent of their focus into keeping the government open. They don’t want to be associated with a shutdown.”

Moran said that the Capitol itself would be operating with bare-bones services.

In Northern Virginia, other affects could be seen almost immediately, with the possible cancellation this weekend of the 27th annual George Washington Parkway Classic, set for Sunday. Personnel from the National Park Service, which runs the parkway, would not be available in the event of a shutdown. If the race is postponed, it will be rescheduled for May 1.

Officials from the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. are also waiting to hear whether some festivities held on federal park land may have to be cancelled.

Other federal services that could be affected would include:

• Processing of passports
• Processing of tax refunds
• Processing of Social Security and Disability claim applications
• National parks would be closed

Moran issued this full statement on Wednesday:

"Washington, DC – Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, released the following statement on Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal and its impact on the federal workforce:

“Chairman Ryan’s proposal is yet another unnecessary and unjustified attack on federal employees’ benefits and pay.  Our federal workforce is smaller than it was at the height of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, yet today there are 100 million more Americans.  Ryan’s proposal to further reduce the workforce without also reducing the services so many Americans rely upon will simply require the government to contract the work of the federal government to the private sector, reducing oversight and producing no actual cost savings.

“Further, the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) is an actuarially sound, pre-paid, fully-funded retirement system.  The Ryan proposal would hurt the ability of the federal government to recruit the best and brightest at a time when nearly 60 percent of the federal workforce will be eligible to retire over the next five years.  Proposing to freeze federal employee pay for five years would also exacerbate the public-private sector pay gap which now stands at 24 percent.  Republicans are attempting to balance the federal budget on the back of federal employees. It’s misguided, damaging and an ideological reaction to our fiscal problems. We need a holistic, all options on the table approach to meet our long term budget needs. This proposal falls far short of that goal.”