House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R- Texas, ask...
House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R- Texas, asked the FCC, Commerce Department, Federal Trade Commission and six other agencies why so many of their staffers are making $100,000 or more annually. In a letter to the agencies,…
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Barton said recent press reports show large increases in the number of federal employees earning more than $100,000, and the number reaching the highest level of government pay scales. The average federal worker’s pay is $71,206, compared to $40,331 in the private sector, Barton said. “This disparity between public and private-sector compensation for comparable work leads us to question the basis for these salaries and raises, especially during an economic recession when countless Americans have either lost their jobs or must accept sharp reductions in pay to keep their jobs.” Barton also asked if any stimulus money from the American Recover and Reinvestment Act “was used to augment already-high federal salaries rather than to stimulate the lagging private sector or to fund critical infrastructure.” The FTC received the letter Wednesday and is reviewing Barton’s request, said agency spokeswoman Claudia Bourne-Farrell. The FCC declined to comment and NTIA didn’t reply to a message.