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Washington, D.C.—The administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget would begin to repair the damage caused by past spending cuts, make much-needed investments to help federal workers better serve the public and stands in sharp contrast to recent congressional leadership plans to slash the federal workforce and reduce spending on the backs of federal employees, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said today.

NTEU National President Tony Reardon welcomed White House proposals to increase funding for federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that provide critically important services and programs to taxpayers.

“This budget makes strategic and practical investments that will provide federal employees with the resources they need to execute their missions,” Reardon said.

The administration is supporting six weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees. “NTEU is a strong supporter of congressional paid parental leave bills for federal employees. Passage of this would bring the U.S. government in line with many private-sector companies and help federal agencies with recruitment and retention efforts,” said Reardon.

Federal employees would benefit from the proposal to allow the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to negotiate directly with pharmacy benefit managers. NTEU has urged that OPM be given this authority that would reduce health care costs for federal employees and retirees enrolled in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

Though the budget recognizes that federal pay lags private-sector pay, the administration’s proposed 1.6 percent federal pay raise falls far too short, Reardon said.

“NTEU will work with Congress to secure a fairer pay increase next year—one that recognizes the value of the federal workforce, narrows the yawning gap between federal and private-sector pay and helps middle-class federal employees meet rising costs,” he said.

Highlights from the budget:

The IRS would get $12.28 billion in FY17—an increase of more than $1 billion over this year. The funding increase would help the IRS recover from the devastation caused by five consecutive years of budget cuts totaling $1.2 billion between 2010 and 2015. This proposed funding level is aimed at helping the agency improve taxpayer services, combat identity theft and better enforce the federal tax code.

Reardon said the IRS lacks sufficient funding currently to resume hiring and make up for the loss of 18,000 workers over the five-

year period.

“I urge Congress to give the IRS the resources it needs to serve taxpayers, crack down on identity theft and continue collecting more than 90 percent of federal revenue, which pays for virtually all other programs and services the American people need and deserve,” he said.

NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.