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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the largest independent union of federal employees today called on the House Rules Committee to rule in order a proposed amendment that would replace the entire 2013 sequester, now planned to take effect March 1, with a balanced approach to deficit reduction.

In a letter to Rules Committee members, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) urged action to permit an amendment from Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to be considered as part of deliberations on H.R. 444, the Require a Plan Act.

“With the devastating across-the-board cuts required by the sequestration provisions of the Budget Control Act less than a month away,” President Kelley wrote, “it is critically important that Congress act now to prevent them from being implemented.”

Under sequestration, she stressed, “Federal employees, who have already contributed $103 billion to deficit reduction, would face significant wage losses due to unpaid furloughs.” Moreover, she added, “the vital service they provide to the public would not be able to be provided.”

Kelley continued, “From border protection, to food safety, to national security, sequestration will seriously impair the delivery of services Americans count on from our federal government. Moreover, sequestration will endanger our fragile economic recovery, killing jobs and hurting businesses.”

Noting that the amendment would provide “a balanced and timely alternative to sequestration,” she said, “people all over the country are questioning why Congress isn’t doing anything to avoid the harmful and arbitrary cuts sequestration will cause beginning March 1st.”

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