Government workers reportedly are now making twice as much as employees in the private sector.

For the past nine consecutive years, federal employees have received higher increases in salary and benefits on the average compared to nongovernment workers, according to a USA Today analysis.

Chris Edwards, a budget analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, said changes need to be made when other employees have seen their salaries in a holding pattern or slashed.

"Can't we now all agree that federal workers are overpaid and do something about it?" he said.

Civil servants received salaries with benefits of $123,049 in 2009 on average compared to employees at private companies making $61,051 in total compensation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis

"The data are not useful for a direct public-private pay comparison," says Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union.

The government employs 2 million workers and President Obama is seeking only a 1.4 percent pay increase in 2011.

Congressional Republicans said the salary bump should be canceled so that $2.2 billion can be saved.

"Americans are fed up with public employee pay scales far exceeding that in the private sector," says Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the second-ranking Republican in the House.

Enacting a freeze in salaries will not solve the nation’s budget woes and would harm the federal employees, said Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del.