Lobbying on Sequestration

1. Lobbying on Sequestration By: Danielle LeClair LIUNA Federal Employee Lobby Week Training March 19, 2013

2. Introduction • What is sequestration? • How does sequestration affect federal workers? • How to lobby on sequestration

3. 1. What is sequestration? • History - Summer 2011 – Congress was about to hit the debt ceiling • Came to a deal • GOP would allow increase on debt ceiling in exchange for steep budget cuts next 10 years • Budget Control Act of 2011 passed

4. What is the Budget Control Act (BCA)? • Compromise – Budget Control Act (BCA) was passed • Extended debt limit to 2013 (til May 19) • Nearly $1 trillion in immediate deficit reduction • Process for long-term balanced deficit reduction of $1.5 trillion in tax and entitlement reform • Enforcement mechanism that would compel painful spending cuts • Super Committee • Sequester

5. Super Committee • Official Name: Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction • Members – 12 total • 6 House – 3 GOP, 3 Dem • 6 Senate – 3 GOP, 3 Dem • Purpose – to develop a deficit reduction plan of $1.5 trillion over 10 years (beyond the $900+ billion in cuts in the BCA) • Threat of DOD and non-DOD cuts was supposed to compel Super Committee to get a deal by December 23, 2011. • Sword of Damocles – was supposed to prevent sequestration • Defense – 50% - GOP priority (but not Tea Party) • Non-Defense – 50% - Dem priority • What Happened: November 21, Super Committee ended its work stating it could not reach a deal.

6. Sequestration • Under the BCA, since the Super Committee did not reach a budget deal, sequestration would automatically kick in January 2013. • What is sequestration? • $1.2 trillion in budget cuts would happen automatically (known as sequestration). • Congress voted earlier this year to postpone sequestration until March 1, 2013, when it went into effect.

7. Sequestration exemptions • Social Security • Medicaid • Veterans Benefits and pensions – and all VA employees • Payments to Federal retirement funds – FERS, CSRS, SAE • Civilian and military pay • Does not mean there can’t be an extended pay freeze • Does not mean feds can’t be furloughed (cut in pay) • Child nutrition • SSI • WIC

8. 2. Sequestration – how does it affect federal workers? • Agencies have to find cost savings – between 5-10% of the Agency budget • Agencies can consider taking the following actions affecting workers to find cost savings: • Furloughs – agencies can choose to furlough workers up to 22 days for the rest of FY 13 • Eliminate bonuses • Travel • Conference spending • Hiring freezes

9. Sequestration - furloughs • To meet the required cuts to their budgets, some Agencies have announced they will furlough federal workers • Maximum – 22 days (otherwise, RIFs are triggered)

10. How are agencies handling furloughs? • Agencies furloughing include: • DOD – 22 days • USDA – 2 weeks • EPA – 13 days • DOL – 6 days • Agencies who have not announced whether they will furlough include: HHS. • Agencies not furloughing include: • VA – exempt by law • State, SBA, Smithsonian, NRC

11. How do agencies decide whether to furlough? • Budgets – 22 day furloughs will only result in 10% of the savings that DOD needs to come up with • Are there other cost savings such as hiring freezes, scaling back contracts, etc? • Politics (White House Tours, Congressional door closures) • Exemptions (job classifications) – unclear – most Agencies don’t have this info yet

12. Furloughs - bargaining • Unions have limited ability to bargain over furloughs • Impact and Implementation • How furloughs occur, not whether • i.e. can they be taken all at once to help employees vs. one day per pay period • Day care • Military training

13. Bills relating to furloughs • H.R. 900 – Rep. Conyers (MI) – repeal sequestration • H.R. 950 – Rep. Farenthold (TX) - require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to send a report to Congress indicating how amounts could be transferred within agencies and departments for fiscal year 2013 to avoid all furloughs or reductions in force • Keeps sequestration in place • H.R. 1014 – Rep. Palazzo (MS) – exempt National Guard technicians from furloughs

14. Other Attacks on Federal Workers • 112th Congress (2011-2012) • 2 year pay freeze • Requires new hires to pay more for their pensions, creating a new category of pension - SAEs • 2013 - Continuing Resolution • House and Senate bills both extend the pay freeze through the end of FY 13 • Both continue sequestration • 2013 - Congressional Budget Resolution – House • Will require feds to pay “more” for their retirement plans to better align with the private sector (does not say how much more, but assumption is 2-5% more) • 10% workforce cut through attrition • $132 billion more in savings over 10 years • 2013 - Congressional Budget Resolution – Senate • Ends sequestration • Does not include House bad provisions for Federal workers

15. Key upcoming dates • March 27 – CR expires • April 8 – President unveils his budget • May 18 – Debt ceiling reached (again)

16. 3. Sequestration– What to Say to your Member of Congress • If you are being furloughed – how does this affect: • You – pay cut, morale • Your family – less money for the family – groceries, mortgage, etc • Your community – hurts small businesses when feds can’t pay for things like meals out, school clothes, etc • Even if you are not being furloughed, how are you affected by sequestration? • Morale/fear • No bonuses • Harder to do your job with less resources • Already living under a pay freeze for more than 2 years – extended under recent House and Senate CR • Feds make 22% less on average than private sector counterparts

17. Meeting Review • Thank them for the meeting • Introduce LIUNA • Half a million members in the U.S. and Canada, including over 25,000 federal employees in 35 states • Introduce yourself and your group • My name is ___ and I work at ___ (agency) and I am a (nurse, mechanic, groundskeeper, etc). • Tell them how many Federal employees live in their state/Congressional district • Introduce and explain how sequestration affects you, your family, and your community • Ask for them to oppose furloughs