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Washington, D.C. —In recommendations presented today to the super committee, Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee buttress a strong argument made by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) that no further cuts should be made to federal worker pay, benefits or workforce size in light of an ongoing pay freeze.

“I am quite pleased to see this support coming from an important segment of Congress on this vital issue,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley, who has emphasized that the two-year pay freeze extending through 2012 means that federal workers already have contributed $60 billion toward deficit reduction.

In its recommendations, the Oversight Committee warned that further cuts would “negatively impact recruitment and retention and substantially degrade agency performance.”

Along with that recommendation, this committee called on the 12-member bipartisan super committee to recognize that adequate funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should be seen as a wise investment in the nation’s financial future.

The recommendations were part of a package forwarded to the super committee from the Democratic leaders of 16 House committees. The Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).

On the matter of IRS funding, President Kelley has warned both Congress and the super committee that proposed House and Senate cuts in the IRS budget would harm efforts to reduce the deficit, resulting in the loss of $4 billion annually in government revenue.

Just yesterday in a news conference, President Kelley—who previously has written several times to the super committee—warned that significant cuts to the IRS budget would have devastating impact not only on the multi-billion-dollar gap between taxes owed and paid, which continues to grow, but on the services and assistance taxpayers rely on to meet voluntarily their tax obligation, as well. Moreover, she said, budget cuts plainly would work against efforts to reduce the federal deficit.

The Oversight Committee called for capping the salaries of contractors performing federal work—some of which can currently go as high as $700,000 per employee; supported NTEU’s position that steps be taken to reduce drug prices under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, by reining in the use of Pharmacy Benefit Managers; and recommended against creation of a commission aimed at making changes in federal compensation and performance management.

It argued, as has NTEU, that the Oversight Committee has the expertise and experience to address these issues in an effective manner.

“This plan represents a common sense approach to deficit reduction that recognizes the sacrifices federal employees have already made,” said Kelley.

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