Trump is canceling pay raises for federal workers because it would cost the government $25 billion next year. The GOP tax law is going to cost the government 8 times that much in 2019. by Bob Bryan on Aug 30, 2018, 4:00 PM - President Donald Trump announced that most civilian federal workers will not receive pay raises in 2019, saying he made the move because of fiscal constraints.
- Trump said the pay raises would cost the federal government $25 billion, and canceling the raises will "put our nation on a fiscally sustainable course."
- At the same time, the tax reform law passed by Trump and Republicans in Congress is projected to add $190 billion to the federal deficit in 2019.
Most federal civilian employees won't be getting a pay raise in 2019 following a declaration from President Donald Trump. Trump cited the cost of the raises, $25 billion, as reason for the cancellation. "We must maintain efforts to put our nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases," Trump said in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. There may be some pay raises on a performance basis, but across-the-board increases won't happen, Trump said. "In light of our nation's fiscal situation, federal employee pay must be performance-based, and aligned strategically toward recruiting, retaining, and rewarding high-performing Federal employees and those with critical skill sets," Trump wrote. "Across-the-board pay increases and locality pay increases, in particular, have long-term fixed costs, yet fail to address existing pay disparities or target mission critical recruitment and retention goals." According to a report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the tax reform law touted by Trump and passed by the GOP will add $1.9 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years, including reduced revenues and debt service payments. That means the law is adding about $190 billion a year to the deficit. The CBO also estimated that due in part to the tax law, the annual US federal deficit would exceed $1 trillion by 2019. Additionally, the White House's Office of Management and Budget projected that the tax bill will add $230 billion to the federal deficit in 2019 — almost 10 times the cost of the canceled raises. SEE ALSO: Trump reportedly wants to hit China with tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods, which would be a massive escalation of the trade war |
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