As always, there are two sides to this story.

In the DC area, federal government pay is still considered lower than a comparable job in the private sector (with few exceptions, for instance, if you’re an artist), with the upside of better job security and benefits. Hardly anyone gets rich working for uncle sam. If you want the money, you become a contractor, but you work hard hours.

The problem though is if you decrease the income for federal employees, you’re going to get fewer useful federal employees. You’ll get the people who value the job security more than the pay – i.e. incompetent, stupid people to warm seats. So what government services you do pursue are going to be terrible, poorly managed and poorly distributed. Similarly, you’ll find that fewer people are available, forcing gov’t to pursue contractors who, while private, are ALWAYS more expensive.

If your goal is to reduce the cost of government, consider rather than pushing to reduce the income of employees moving government out of DC. The truth is, DC has a very high cost of living. The average house price is around $300k. But most of these services can be provided just as well from almost any other city in the US. Move jobs to Iowa, to Montana, etc. and the price of governance will drop.