Federal Employees have had a pay freeze for the past several years and the pay and benefits for the federal workforce have been seriously affected due to sequestration and the government shutdown this year.
Giving Federal Employees an extra holiday on December 24th, 2013 would be a good gesture to improve morale of the federal workforce which has gone down due to sequestration and shutdown furloughs.
This is also consistent with past practice. President Obama provided Christmas Eve off in 2012 and half-day off in 2009. President George W. Bush provided a half-day holiday on Wednesday, December. 24, 2002, as well as several full days off the day before or after Christmas: 2001, 2007 and 2008.
We urge President Obama to issue an executive order on this issue.