A Welcome Concession: Obama Proposes Pay Freeze for Healthcare Personnel in VA, Federal Government

In what Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly deemed a political move, President Obama today proposed a pay freeze for health-care personnel in the federal government, to include Veterans Affairs. Because the scheduled pay increases will not be applied retroactively until the economic crises eases, the proposed plan is to save $2 billion in this year alone, $28 billion in the next five years, and $60 billion by 2021.
“In these challenging times, we want the best and the brightest to join and make a difference,” Obama announced. “But these are also time when all of us are called on to make some sacrifices, and I’m asking civil servants to do what they’ve always done—to play their part.”
Singling Out Federal Employees
Connolly (D) was unsure in his interview on Fox News whether the proposal would be beneficial or not, but his statement following the President’s proposal read thusly:
“Make no mistake, reducing the deficit and paying down the debt will not be easy and all Americans, including federal employees, will have to do their part. But a federal pay freeze should only be considered as part of an overall deficit reduction plan. Singling out federal employees in advance of a comprehensive plan is counter-productive and risks leaving Americans with the false impression that federal employee pay raises are a significant contributor to our national debt.”
RNs Take a Blow
Co-president of National Nurses United, Jean Ross, RN (Registered Nurse), was none too pleased, either. She says the freeze “adds salt to an already festering wound of the Obama administration’s failure to support equal rights for VA nurses seeking to improve quality of care standards in VA hospitals and to enhance their standard of living.”
The low standard of living and low-quality work environment is hardly the plight of VA and federal government nurses alone. The global nursing shortage is attributed to lack of funding, stemming from a vast opinion that nurses are non-essential personnel, a job for soft women and the stuff of Halloween costume jokes. Many hospital decision-makers and even doctors disrespect nurses, causing further pay decreases and in many instances miscommunication that can result in patient deaths. With less funding, fewer nurses are expected to do more work, creating a stressful and often semi-abusive work environment; poor pay is a slap in the face. With a nursing shortage, fewer nurse educators exist (can be funded) to teach new nurses, and many qualified applicants are turned away from nursing schools.
Keeping the End in Mind
The proposal would freeze the pay not only of nurses but of doctors and other health-care personnel within the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, the Indian Health Service, and other agencies, including civilian doctors working in the Department of Defense. Uniformed military personnel would be exempt.
Although the move may be political and a concession to Republicans and conservatives wrinkling their noses at federal government employees—who have reputedly been seen to take it easy while the rest of the country tightened their belts—it is not without merits. Many veterans have taken advantage of social media such as Facebook to spread news of their mishaps with health-care personnel within the VA, whom they claim get paid regardless of patient number or conditions, resulting sometimes in substandard treatment and care.
Regardless of what actually goes on behind those pulled curtains, much-needed money will be saved—all $60 billion of it in a paltry 10 years—with this proposal. Moreover, Obama may have won over a few approving nods from red voters. We’ll see how this progresses in Congress over the next few days.


Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, where recently she's been researching different types of online physical therapy assistant degrees and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.


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