MOSCOW, Sept. 11 (Bernama-Sputnik) -- Thousands of US diplomats are at risk of a dramatic 22 per cent pay cut at the beginning of October unless Congress passes a short-term government funding bill, reported Sputnik, quoting US Democratic Senator Chris Coons on Wednesday.
"It would impact virtually every foreign service officer deployed overseas. And a 22 per cent reduction in their pay would be a needless and demoralising harm. I look forward to working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen," Coons told NBC News.
Congress must pass appropriations bills or a stopgap funding bill before the end of the month to prevent a government shutdown. Coons said the issue of preserving diplomatic wages should be fixed in the government funding bill, which needs to be agreed by the rival parties.
Pay cuts might affect over 10,000 federal employees in six foreign affairs agencies, NBC reported, citing the American Foreign Service Association. This translates to an average of US$21,000 per staffer.
--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
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