{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.cardin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/cardin-urges-majority-leader-reid-to-leave-feds-alone-in-budget-deal-to-end-sequestration", "Cardin Urges Majority Leader Reid To Leave Feds Alone In Budget Deal To End Sequestration", "2013-12-09", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "Benjamin Cardin", "C000141", "www.cardin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 09, 2013\n\t\t\t Cardin Urges Majority Leader Reid To Leave Feds Alone In Budget Deal To End Sequestration \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t \u201cNo other group of predominantly middle class Americans has contributed to deficit reduction the way federal workers have.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n WASHINGTON \u2013 Saying clearly that \u201cfederal workers have sacrificed enough,\u201d U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging him to abide by budget agreements made last year that \u201cfederal workers would not serve as a \u2018piggybank\u2019 again, especially for shorter term budget deals.\u201d\r\nSenator Cardin, who has been tasked by Majority Leader Reid to keep the Democratic Caucus apprised of matters concerning the federal workforce, was specific in his request: \u201c\u2026 in any budget agreement, there should be no further erosion in federal workers\u2019 compensation or benefits, even in exchange for a limited respite from sequestration, however desirable that goal is.\u201d\r\nTotally more than $115 billion, federal workers have contributed enough to end our fiscal crisis through multi-year pay freezes, furloughs and budget cuts, Senator Cardin said. \u201cNo other group of predominantly middle class Americans has contributed to deficit reduction the way federal workers have.\u00a0 This relentless attack isn\u2019t just devastating to morale; it\u2019s hurting our country and the economy,\u201d he warned in his letter. The impact goes well beyond the National Capital Region.\u00a0\r\nThe full text of the letter follows and is available at this link. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report is available here.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.cardin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/cardin-urges-majority-leader-reid-to-leave-feds-alone-in-budget-deal-to-end-sequestration"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3808279763907194, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}