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Washington, D.C.—Senate approval of debt ceiling-deficit reduction legislation sets the stage for President Obama to sign the historic measure, thus avoiding a first-ever default on the nation’s debt, but does little to dampen the uncertainty federal employees feel about the ultimate impact on them and their agencies, the head of the largest independent union of federal employees said today.

“While I am naturally pleased to see default avoided, and that there will be no immediate cuts to federal pay or pensions, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) will continue to follow developments closely,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “Our goal is an economically-stable and strong country in which the federal workforce is not called upon to carry an unfair share of the burden needed to reach that goal.”

President Kelley expressed her concern about the impact of the legislation on the ability of federal agencies to perform their missions on behalf of the public. The first step under the agreement calls for spending cuts of nearly $1 trillion over 10 years; the second step, initially in the hands of a 12-member congressional ‘super-committee,’ would entail further cuts of $1.5 trillion over that period.

“Cutting agency budgets will have serious detrimental effects,” the NTEU leader said. “The work of the federal government is intricately tied into the lives and well-being of all Americans. As a result, government agencies—and the dedicated professionals who carry out their missions—need adequate resources to do the jobs that people want and expect.”

She said NTEU will closely monitor the impact of the legislation, as well as the deliberations of the ‘super-committee,’ with an eye toward making sure policymakers fully understand that federal workers did not cause the economic crisis, and that it cannot be resolved by attacking them and the work they do or changing their retirement or other benefits in mid-stream. “We will not stop fighting on behalf of our nation’s federal employees and retirees,” Kelley said.

NTEU is the nation’s largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.