Vangie Williams Statement on Elimination of Pay Raises for Federal Civilian Employees

August 31, 2018

Contact: Sheri Shannon, [email protected]

Fredericksburg, VA. – Democratic candidate Vangie Williams (VA-01) released the following statement regarding President Trump’s announcement to eliminate a pay raise for civilian federal employees:

“President Trump’s plan to save $25 billion dollars by cutting federal pay raises in an effort to compensate for the $1.5 trillion-dollar deficit created by his own tax plan is reckless. This is not what fiscal responsibility looks like.

“Virginia has the third-highest number of federal employees in the country with more than 175,000 federal employees. Nearly 75 percent of those workers are federal civilian employees. With three military installations right here in the 1^st Congressional District – A.P. Hill, Dahlgren and Quantico – it makes sense that the U.S. Navy, Army and Department of Defense are the cabinet agencies with the highest number of civilian employees in Virginia.

“Federal employees are not pawns on a chess board. They are dedicated, public servants committed to keeping us safe, protecting our environment and providing the services and benefits we rely on every single day. The continued assault on public servants makes us weaker, not stronger.

“This announcement begs an even more important question for the voters of the 1^st District: If Representatives Barbara Comstock and Scott Taylor have already denounced this attack on federal employees, why hasn’t Rob Wittman?

“Rob Wittman’s failure to denounce this harmful move by the Administration is further evidence of his continued failure of leadership for the 1^st District. Instead of standing up and fighting for the significant number of hard-working dedicated federal employees in this district, he’s doing what he’s always done – follow orders.  It’s clear to me that Wittman cares more about satisfying the leadership of his own party than the well-being of the people in his own district.

“I don’t care if the president is a Republican or a Democrat, if a policy is bad for the people of this district, I will stand firm and fight for them. That’s why I’m running for Congress – because we need a representative that will actually fight for the people. I’m running for Congress because we deserve better.

“History will record this day as yet another milestone in the failed tenure of Rob Wittman. That’s why the voters will flock to the polls and end his congressional career on November 6.

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