To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate

Tell Congress: No Budget Deal that Punishes Federal Workers and the Unemployed

We demand that you oppose billions in cuts to federal workers’ retirement in a budget deal. We also call on you to make sure an extension of insurance for unemployed workers passes before it expires at the end of the month.

Why is this important?

Congress is expected to leave for the holiday in mid-December. But before they do, they’re expected to vote on a plan to fund the government and stop another GOP shutdown of our country from happening as well as an extension of unemployment insurance.

But, no surprise, Rep. Paul Ryan and other Republicans are using working people as punching bags to get their way. Instead of focusing on investing in jobs and infrastructure programs to get people back to work and ending tax loopholes for the wealthy corporations that ship jobs overseas, Republicans are demanding that Democrats agree to a $20 billion cut to federal workers’ retirement over ten years. On top of that, they may not allow an extension of unemployment insurance to happen before the end of the year, leaving millions of unemployed Americans out in the cold.

This is not the first time federal employees and unemployed workers have been put on the chopping block. Over the last two years, federal employees have sacrificed more than $30,000 each, $113 billion total for all workers, for deficit reduction--and that doesn’t even include lost wages from furloughs. Republicans were able to get cuts to unemployment insurance for workers in the sequester and have let extensions for unemployment insurance lapse to get cuts for other vital programs.

Unfortunately, some Democrats are showing signs that they might go along with these terrible ideas. We can’t let that happen. Sign the petition to Congress to oppose attacks on the retirement security of federal workers and to fight for an extension of insurance for unemployed workers.