Federal employees deserve a raise, particularly after the abusive shutdown they just suffered through. Federal workers need the raise to keep up with inflation. If you think federal workers are being treated better than private sector workers, do something about it. Raise the minimum wage, insure that people with working class income get overtime, and protect the right of employees to organize for better wages and working conditions. As for the federal deficit, you can't balance the budget on the backs of federal workers. We all created the deficit - we all need to bear the pain of fixing it. If you are really concerned about the deficit, raise tax rates on the billionaires, because the tax cut Trump gave the rich and corporations exploded the deficit and did nothing to help employees