Another Day, Another Pay Freeze Proposal

With the midterm elections over, it seems every politician, interest group and think tank is weighing in with their proposals to cut federal spending and reduce the national debt. And a lot of these proposals -- even the bipartisan ones -- seem to have one thing in common: a freeze on civilian federal pay.

Today's package of recommendations comes from the Debt Reduction Task Force of the Bipartisan Policy Center. The task force, co-chaired by Pete Domenici, former chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Alice Rivlin, head of the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton Administration, backs a four-year freeze on domestic discretionary spending. "To help live within the discretionary cap," the report says, "most members" of the panel back a two-year freeze on civilian pay.

"A serious debt reduction plan will require a modest amount of shared sacrifice from all Americans, and the federal government must show that it too is tightening its belt and is not exempt from the mission," the report says.

The task force also proposed to change civilian retirement benefits so they are based on employees' five highest years of salary rather than three.

The task force's other recommendations to cut federal spending include:

• A five-year freeze on defense spending.
• Overhauling government's regional office structure to eliminate some field offices.
• Requiring agencies to share human resources, procurement, and other services with other agencies.