Freeze the day

30 November 2010 By James Pethokoukis

Americans are unlikely to accept austerity of any sort as long as they think Washington remains fat and happy. Obama’s twoyear government pay freeze is a start. But he needs to commit to real hacking and slashing to get the rest of the country to begin tightening its belt.

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President Barack Obama on Nov. 29 proposed a twoyear freeze on the pay of federal workers and vowed to work with Republicans to cut the ballooning U.S. budget deficit.

The White House estimates the pay freeze would save about $2 billion in the current 2011 fiscal year and $28 billion over five years. It would require congressional approval.

Republicans welcomed the pay freeze but it drew silence from most top Democrats.

Virginia's Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, said he was "encouraged" by Obama's pay freeze proposal and said he hoped congressional Democrats would also support it.

Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, offered a lukewarm reaction to the pay freeze. Hoyer, whose Maryland district includes many federal workers, said he would "review closely" Obama's proposal.

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