Dems Split On Obama Plan To Freeze Federal Pay
Congressional Democrats are divided once again over an olive branch President Obama extended to the GOP. Progressive members are openly questioning his proposal to freeze federal pay through at least 2012, while their conservative counterparts support the plan, aligning themselves with Republican members who are already pressing Obama to move further to the right.
“[I]t would have been far preferable for the White House to have included this as part of a comprehensive proposal, instead of singling out the hard working men and women of the federal workforce,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in a statement to reporters this evening. “By focusing exclusively on federal employees, the Administration runs the risk of reinforcing the myth, pushed by some for politically convenient but cynical reasons, that America suffers from a federal government comprised of unproductive and overpaid civil servants. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
TPM
11/30/10
Magnolia Tribune
