More than 77,000 federal government employees throughout the country — including computer operators, more than 5,000 air traffic controllers, 22 librarians and one interior designer — earn more than the governors of the states in which they work.
That’s according to a new Congressional Research Service report requested by Sen. Tom Coburn, one of the few lawmakers on Capitol Hill who plays the role of watchdog.
At a time when government workers at the state and local level have taken concessions – in some cases, several years in a row – federal workers continue to rake in big bucks without a peep from Capitol Hill.
According to the Washington Times, CRS reviewed 2009 salary figures, the most recent available, and found 77,057 employees who earned more in annual pay than their respective governors. Of those workers, 18,351 were doctors — the highest percentage. The second-highest total was for 5,170 air traffic controllers — likely both front-line controllers and their supervisors.
In Maryland, 7,283 federal employees — about 7 percent of all full-time federal employees in the state — earned more than Gov. Martin O’Malley’s $150,000 salary. Maryland was topped by Colorado, which in 2009 had 10,875 employees who made more than the $90,000 salary of the governor, Bill Ritter.
“Across America, governors are being asked to do more with less, often at lower pay than federal employees in their states. The pay gap between governors and federal employees should prompt Congress to take a closer look at federal salaries,” said Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican.
“With our debt and deficits spiraling out of control, now is the time to ask agencies — not just governors — to do more with less.”
Stephen Dinan of the Times writes that, on average, the age of the federal work force is older, and thus likely to be higher paid, than those in the private sector. In addition, a higher percentage of federal workers than private-sector employees hold management jobs.
President Obama late last year proposed a two-year salary freeze for federal workers, following on the heels of his announcement soon after he took office in 2009 that he was freezing salaries of top White House employees.
Both houses of Congress voted this year to cut their own budgets, too.
From the perspective of labor unions, comparisons of private and public pay are unfair unless they’re matched up profession by profession.
But at the federal level, there’s another factor – contractors.
Beth Moten, legislative and political director for the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents 625,000 federal employees, said the bigger problem is the amount of money that contractors can collect. She said contractors can be reimbursed up to $693,000 toward salaries for their top five executives, and even more for other employees doing government work.
“So the government’s paying $700,000 and more for contractor salaries, and Sen. Coburn worries about the pay of physicians who care for wounded soldiers?” Moten asked. “If those governors want to make more money, they should either become contractors or try applying to medical school.”
Coburn requested that the CRS review use governors’ salaries, figuring a state’s chief executive’s pay would be a good yardstick for top-end salaries in each state.
Governor salaries range from $70,000 to $210,000 but most are in the mid-$100,000 range. (Gov. Rick Snyder only accepts $1 in pay.)
Paying doctors and scientists and attorneys an attractive salary is to be expected, but some of those out earning their governor have fairly routine jobs.
CRS said nationwide there were 122 park rangers, 271 environmental protection specialists, 14 chaplains and one prison guard who earned more than their governors. There were also 21 archaeologists, three sociologists, 48 social workers, four food service workers and five civil rights analysts who made more than their governors.
