Connolly and Moran: Myth Busters
Two Virginia Democrats are losing patience with other lawmakers using federal employees as "political punching bags." In a letter sent last week to members of Congress, Reps. Gerry Connolly and Jim Moran tried to set the record straight on some of the common misconceptions about government workers:
Myth:Most federal employees live in or near Washington, D.C.
Fact:
85% of the federal workforce does not live in this region. Texas has more federal employees than Maryland, and Alaska has more federal employees per capita than Virginia.
Myth:
Federal employees earn far more than private sector employees, on average $120,000 per year.
Fact:
Federal employees earn 22-24% less than private sector employees in comparable jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which conducts the most in-depth study of pay. The widely-cited $120,000 figure inaccurately counts future pension payments, which include employee annuity contributions, as wages.
Myth:
Most federal employees work in agencies related to education, regulation, or welfare.
Fact:
63% of federal employees work for agencies whose primary purpose is national security. The smallest executive branch departments are Education and Housing and Urban Development.
Myth:
The federal government has grown larger than ever before.
Fact:
The federal government is the smallest it has been in the last 60 years, relative to the US population and size of our economy. The number of federal civilian employees per 1,000 Americans has shrunk steadily from 13.2/1,000 in 1962 to 8.4/1,000 today.
Myth:
It is nearly impossible to fire a federal employee.
Fact:
11,668 federal employees were fired last year.
Lawmakers, union leaders and government observers have long been at odds over whether federal workers are overpaid or underpaid compared to their private sector counterparts. A key point of contention is the methodology used to calculate employee compensation. Labor economists use a "human capital" comparison that takes into account how certain characteristics such as experience and education affect workers' pay. The government uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on comparable jobs in the public and private sectors. During a March 9 hearing on federal pay, Office of Personnel Director John Berry admitted that neither the BLS methodology nor the government's pay structure is ideal, noting calculations cannot capture the complexity of today's workforce.
Janet Kopenhaver, Washington representative for Federally Employed Women, said a lack of facts is fueling the anti-fed sentiment among lawmakers and the public.
"The misunderstanding of the federal workforce, including pay, location and size among others, has reached fever pitch and it is seriously feeding the anti-federal worker emotion on Capitol Hill as well as beyond the beltway," said Kopenhaver. "The fact that legislators are making decisions on how to vote on specific bills and amendments based on this faulty data has us extremely concerned."