Congressman Subramanyam Fires Back Against Attacks on the Federal Workforce on the House Floor

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) spoke on the House floor to address the harm being caused by the Trump administration’s attacks on federal workers and contractors, emphasizing their critical roles in saving taxpayer money and ensuring public safety and health.

The Congressman warned that continued mistreatment and job cuts would undermine national security and public services, ultimately costing taxpayers more and compromising the country's well-being and the safety of all Americans. 

As a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, he has called for an investigation into illegal firings of federal workers and unconstitutional freezes of congressionally appropriated funds. Congressman Subramanyam represents over 34,000 federal workers and many more federal contractors in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District.

See below for a transcript of remarks as delivered: 

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise because many people want to paint federal workers and contractors as unskilled bureaucrats who waste taxpayer dollars. 

But the reality is the opposite, and I know this because Virginia is home to hundreds of thousands of our country's federal workers and contractors, and I've heard from many of them. 

These federal workers actually save taxpayers money, and they keep all Americans safe and healthy despite all the regulations imposed on them by Congress. That is the bureaucracy.

And in almost all cases, they bring critical skills or expertise that are hard to replace, too. 

One USDA employee says firings in her department, which is focused on threats to America's crops, could cost us hundreds of millions of dollars down the road.

And one contractor who supports anti-terrorism efforts overseas was fired despite his track record of success countering extremism. 

These firings even threaten border security. 

A contractor who vets refugees has to lay off 100 security experts because of the cuts. 

No one will want to serve our government if federal workers and contractors are treated this way, and the attacks on federal civil servants will cost taxpayers money and make all Americans less safe and less healthy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back.”

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