A bill introduced late Thursday in the House would freeze the hiring of most federal workers until the federal deficit is eliminated.
The bill (H.R. 1779), introduced by Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., would freeze hiring at all federal agencies, with a few exceptions -- for law enforcement, national security and during times of war. The proposal also would not affect the U.S. Postal Service, the Postal Regulatory Commission, seasonal hiring, reassignment of personnel within the same agency, or transitional positions involving a new presidential administration.
"We cannot allow the federal government to grow at record levels while we ask our business owners and families to be more frugal and to get by with a lot less," Marino said.
The bill does not cite technology hiring as exempt from the freeze, so it's safe to assume that tech hiring would stall if Marino's bill were to pass. But with new demands for mobile computing, cloud services and social media at agencies, more tech workers and new types of skills are sure to be needed by government in the coming years.
What are your thoughts? Are blanket freezes to federal hiring an effective way to cut the deficit?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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