In response to Mr. Bumblaukas’ Dec. 5 letter, “Government jobs obscenely cushy,” it is apparent to me that Mr. Bumblaukas is misinformed with regard to the raises that federal employees actually receive each year.

I am a federal employee. Federal employees have historically forfeited cost-of-living raises whenever the economy is less than robust. Even though the raises are provided for by law, the president has the authority to declare a time of national need and can reduce the cost of living increase accordingly.

This occurs routinely, such that we federal employees are shocked when we actually do get a raise. The 18.6% proposed cost-of-living increase referenced in Mr. Bumblaukas’ letter is due to the fact that we have been denied our raises in the past and now, to comply with the law, the delta is significantly higher than the three to five percent we would typically expect. I never expected to receive the 18.6 percent anyway, as the amount is set high so that both the President and Congress can say that they are doing what they can to “shrink the government.”

Federal employees are not compensated equitably with our private sector counterparts. As a result, the federal government is having trouble hiring and retaining employees. This is especially true in the technical fields such as engineering and computer science. The intent of the legislation is to maintain reasonable salary competitiveness with the private sector.

I would not consider our benefit package “lucrative.” It is consistent with what other companies provide as far as health insurance and retirement plans are concerned. If you consider 10 federal holidays per year “lucrative,” I stand corrected.

Stephen Frank

Graduate Student

Civil & Construction Engineering