The House will vote next week on a bill to extend the federal workers’ pay freeze, with Republican leaders saying the deficit is still too high to begin hiking salaries.
The bill would overturn President Obama’s Dec. 27 decision to raise federal pay, at a cost of $11 billion over the next decade.
“President Obama continues to demonstrate he is not serious about dealing with our debt crisis,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Wednesday in announcing the House’s plans to vote next week.
Congress will convene on Monday for Mr. Obama’s ceremonial inauguration — the official one will be done privately on Sunday — and the pay-freeze bill will be one of the first pieces of legislation the House acts on as the president begins his second term.
