In the Fifth Congressional District, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer is a tireless fighter for economic development and a leader in creating jobs. He has helped create and save nearly 23,000 jobs by supporting federal facilities and associated businesses located in and around the Fifth District, including NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Indian Head, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the FDA at White Oak, and the future NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park.
Congressman Hoyer is proud to represent civilian defense employees who work at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center, Webster Field, Joint Base Andrews, the Pentagon, and other defense installations across the region. He has been a strong advocate for these hardworking civil servants, fighting to secure fair pay and parity between civilian personnel and the uniformed personnel they work alongside.
Congressman Hoyer strongly opposes across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, which resulted in furloughs for many defense employees in 2013. These furloughs threatened military readiness, undermined the mission of our defense installations, harmed our local economy, and impeded our ability to recruit and retain a skilled federal workforce. Additionally, the furloughs came on top of the $138 billion that federal employees across the country have already contributed toward deficit reduction through freezes to cost-of-living-adjustments and changes to retirement benefits.With budget cuts and the threat of sequester looming in Fiscal Year 2016, Congressman Hoyer believes Congress must take action to replace the sequester and avoid the possibility of unnecessary and costly furloughs in the future.