December 31, 2018

For Immediate Release

Statement of Prince George’s County Council Member At-Large Mel Franklin Condemning President Trump’s Decision to Freeze the Pay of Federal Employees

Says President’s decision ‘adds insult to injury’ for thousands of Prince George’s County middle and working-class families already deprived of a salary during the holidays by his government shutdown

Contact: Mel@melfranklin.net

Upper Marlboro, MD – On Friday, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order freezing the pay of non-military federal employees nationwide for 2019, denying them a 2.1% increase in salary.  Currently, approximately 800,000 federal employees are not receiving pay during the latest federal government shutdown.  Today, Prince George’s County Council Member At-Large Mel Franklin (D-Upper Marlboro) issued the following statement:

“President Trump’s decision to deny a 2.1% pay increase to hard working middle and working-class families in our region, including thousands of families of federal employees here in Prince George’s County, adds insult to injury for these Americans, many of whom are also being denied a salary during the President’s government shutdown.  The President’s explanation that his decision is based on fiscal responsibility rings hollow since he has shut the government down over his insistence on funding an irresponsible $5 billion-dollar border wall and signed into law a deficit-busting trillion-dollar tax scheme, largely for the benefit of multi-millionaires and billionaires.  The President’s decision hurts our local economy and adds further hardship for everyday residents working hard to make ends meet.  I strongly urge Congress to reverse the President’s decision.”

Prince George’s County is home to one of the largest populations of federal employees in the nation and the Greater Washington region has, by far, the nation’s largest federal workforce of any metropolitan region.

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