President Barack Obama is proposing a two-year freeze on federal civilian employee pay, a move that he said would save $2 billion over the rest of this fiscal year and $28 billion over the next five years.Speaking Nov. 29, he said, "This is not just a line item on a federal ledger. These are people’s lives. They’re doctors and nurses who care for our veterans; scientists who search for better treatments and cures; men and women who care for our national parks and secure our borders and our skies; Americans who see that the Social Security checks get out on time, who make sure that scholarships come through, who devote themselves to our safety. "If Congress approves the proposal, it would take effect Jan. 1, the date when federal locality pay rates are set. It also would precede by about one month the release of the federal budget in February.The pay freeze does not apply to the armed forces.Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., who will become House Majority Leader when the new Congress opens, said he was encouraged by the president’s move.In a statement he said, "Many federal employees do important work, but this is exactly the kind of savings measure we have to make in order to begin to restore some fiscal sanity in America, especially considering recent reports of federal salaries significantly outpacing private-sector salaries."Incoming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, earlier in November proposed a freeze on federal hiring as a way to bring down the $1 trillion federal deficit.In making the announcement in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Obama cited his administration’s plan is reining in federal non-security discretionary spending, eliminating bonuses for political-appointed employees and the terminating or cutting back the spending in 120 federal programs for a projected savings of $20 billion.Obama’s Deficit Reduction Commission report was made Dec. 3.