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Washington, D.C. – The federal government will shut down in 17 days unless Congress acts on a spending plan that the National Treasury Employees Union believes should include enough agency funding to make up for past cuts and a federal employee pay raise that keeps pace with wage increases in the private sector.

“This is a crucial time for federal employees and the public that they serve,” said NTEU National President Tony Reardon. “Congress has a chance to make sure important government services continue without interruption and to provide our middle class civil service workers with a paycheck next year that keeps up with day-to-day costs.”

The current spending resolution expires Dec. 8, and Congress needs to reach an agreement beforehand that resolves funding for the remainder of the 2018 fiscal year. The agreement should keep federal employees on the job and paid on time in December and address sequestration that has prevented full funding of federal agencies leaving many programs for the public in a precarious state. A shorter-term agreement would only set up another risky funding deadline and leave agencies – and taxpayers – wondering about their future.

“We hope that whatever final deal is reached, it restores agencies’ funding to levels that provide for smooth and adequate operations for our 326 ports of entry, the appropriate policing of the financial and banking system, an efficient and effective tax collection process, strong enforcement of environmental laws and many other vital government services,” Reardon said.

NTEU is also urging that the proposed 2.4 percent pay raise for the military be expanded to civilian federal agencies. The principle of pay parity is important because the entire federal workforce – civilian and military – is made up of people who have dedicated their careers to public service. Economists are forecasting an average increase in private sector salaries of 3 percent in 2018.

Portions of the appropriations measures released this week by the Senate indicate a desire to reject deeper across-the-board spending cuts proposed earlier this year, but there would still be many agencies operating with significantly fewer resources than last year.

For example, the draft Financial Services and General Government bill provides $11.1 billion to the Internal Revenue Service for fiscal year 2018, a reduction of more than $123 million from the 2017 enacted level. However, the IRS is still strained by almost $1 billion in total cuts since 2010 and a reduction of 18,000 full time employees. The 2018 spending package should stop the backward funding slide and start restoring the agency’s ability to provide quality services to American taxpayers.

Additional language to place the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the annual legislative appropriations process is also problematic. The CFPB, which is currently financed through the Federal Reserve, needs to remain independent in order to pursue abuse and fraud in how the nation’s financial institutions treat seniors, military veterans and all Americans who expect and deserve fair treatment.

NTEU is encouraged that there is bipartisan support among House and Senate appropriators to maintain the long-standing ban on competitions between federal employees and private contractors. A provision to prevent federal funds from going toward any public-private competition under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 should be preserved in the final year-end spending agreement.

NTEU represents 150,000 employees at 31 federal agencies and departments.