WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Heitkamp today announced that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved pay rate increases for 171 federal employees working across western North Dakota – the third such pay rate increase for federal workers Heitkamp has successfully pushed for and announced since last December.

Heitkamp has been spearheading efforts to make sure federal employees – including civilian employees at Minot Air Force Base, scientists, engineers and park rangers – get the support they need to keep pace with skyrocketing cost of living across western North Dakota. Just last month, Heitkamp secured pay increases for 160 civilian and federal employees at Minot Air Force Base and throughout western North Dakota. The very day those pay increases were announced, Heitkamp spoke directly with OPM Director Katherine Archuleta – who oversees federal workforce issues – about the need to aggressively assist federal agencies across North Dakota with the challenges they face in recruiting and retaining workers. The issue is prevalent across the Bakken – where the cost of living is especially high and quality employees and potential candidates for critical public sector jobs are more easily lured by high-paying jobs.

“Federal workers provide a foundation of support for our farmers and ranchers, our energy sector, and our national defense teams – and they need to be able to afford to live and work in our communities,” said Heitkamp. “Enabling our federal agencies to better recruit and retain workers also supports the many workers and industries around our state that rely on them to approve their permits and keep them safe. When I brought Director Archuleta to North Dakota last year, I made sure she heard directly from civilian workers at Minot Air Force Base whose work is critical to keeping us safe, and from leaders at the federal agencies who do the work that North Dakotans count on – like providing the permits for our oil and gas industry workers. She heard and understood their challenges and has since taken strides to heed their calls by approving pay increases for close to 500 workers since December. I’ll keep pressing OPM and other federal agencies to make sure that those who serve this nation are treated fairly in North Dakota and across the country."

Heitkamp has worked to better recruit and retain federal workers in North Dakota by:

• Bringing Federal Agencies to Hear Firsthand from Federal Workers: Last September, Heitkamp took Archuleta to Minot Air Force Base to hear firsthand about the challenges civilian employees on the base face. Heitkamp and Archuleta also visited New Town where they met with North Dakota-based officials from federal agencies in the Bakken region about recruitment and retention issues within their individual agencies. They heard from federal agencies about problems they face filling and retaining law enforcement and social work positions in Indian Country, jobs at federal oil and natural gas permitting offices, and positions in the natural resources and engineering fields.

• Getting Results for Federal Workers: Just three months after Heitkamp brought Archuleta to North Dakota to hear about challenges on the ground, Heitkamp announced that OPM approved pay rate increases of 33 to 37 percent for more than 150 civilian employees at Minot Air Force Base – including custodial workers, maintenance mechanics, and food service workers – to help offset the high cost of living in the area and help the base retain and recruit workers. Following this announcement, Heitkamp then continued to press Archuleta for greater support for the broader federal workforce throughout North Dakota. Last month, Heitkamp announced that OPM approved pay rate increases of about 34 percent for 160 additional federal employees – including aircraft mechanics, electricians, electronic equipment mechanics, heavy mobile equipment mechanics, and others – at Minot Air Force base and at other locations in western North Dakota.

• Leading the Charge for Federal Workers in the Senate: As Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee which oversees federal workforce issues, Heitkamp will continue to lead efforts and push for policy reforms that make the federal workforce more effective and efficient, as well as able to respond to unique situations. At a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing last May, Heitkamp pressed Archuleta on federal workforce efficiency and effectiveness and discussed ways to improve the outlook for federal workers.

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