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Washington, D.C. —In opposing the so-called ‘Cut, Cap and Balance’ bill, the head of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today called on Congress to find “a balanced and reasonable approach to deficit reduction.”

In a letter to every member of the House, NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said H.R. 2560—the ‘Cut, Cap and Balance’ bill, introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)—would “so decimate vital services provided by the federal government that your constituents will immediately feel its harm.”

She noted pointedly that, in addition to the diminution of vital government services, H.R. 2560 provides for a debt limit increase only if a balanced budget amendment is approved by Congress and is sent to the states for ratification. “We have only two weeks until we run out of money,” she wrote.

The NTEU leader was sharply critical of the measure which would require large cuts to mandatory spending but exempts Social Security and Medicare, “leaving federal employees and retiree benefits to take a huge and disproportionate cut.”

Moreover, she told House members in urging defeat of the measure, “such an amendment would make any revenue increases practically impossible to enact, even though those involved in the deficit reduction proposals acknowledge that tax increases must be part of the package.”

President Kelley was direct in her message that federal employees are well aware of the need for sacrifice and that the government’s fiscal deficit needs to be reined in. “My members have already forgone pay increases for two years,” she wrote.

Kelley previously has urged Congress to develop a program of true shared sacrifice, including having the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of taxes and the closing of tax code loophole before singling out dedicated public servants like federal workers for further reductions in their pay and benefits.

“In the final analysis, that would turn out to be a counterproductive, costly and unwise move for our nation,” she said.

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