MYTHBUSTERS: FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

Debunking misperceptions about the people who protect the country’s security, economy and public health and assist our most vulnerable citizens

Clean air. Hurricane rescue and recovery. Secure borders. Safe medicine. Efficient tax system. Sound banks. Catching criminals on Wall Street. Groundbreaking science. Preserving national parks. These are just some of the things federal employees work on every day across the country. In fact, more than 80 percent of the nation’s federal employees live and work outside the Washington DC area.

A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 57 percent of the public saying that the government should do more to solve problems and meet the needs of Americans; the highest percentage since the poll question began 22 years ago. Yet the efficient and effective government Americans want is jeopardized by budget cuts that result in a less-skilled federal workforce with fewer resources.

Federal employees are nonpartisan professionals who work for the taxpayers, not the politicians. Their role to uphold the Constitution and protect the public has been clouded by long standing myths about who they are and what they do. The National President of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), Tony Reardon, is here to set the record straight and tackle some of the most pervasive and hurtful myths about the men and women who work for the taxpayers.

Tony will discuss:
· Myths surrounding the nation’s civil servants (i.e. they are part of the swamp that needs to be drained, the federal workforce has grown out of control, they get free benefits and lifetime job security, etc.)
· The services federal employees provide taxpayers
· Customized stat of how many federal employees are in your local community; who they are- your neighbors, law enforcement officers, nuclear physicists, accountants, lawyers, bank examiners, chemists, engineers, secretaries, doctors, air traffic controllers, etc.
· Challenges federal employees are facing, and why that matters to all taxpayers