On Thursday, May 2, Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Tom Cole (R-OK) introduced the Federal Retirement Fairness Act (H.R. 2478). The bill would allow Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) employees an opportunity to make catch-up retirement contributions for service performed in temporary positions. This has been one of FMA’s legislative priorities for several years.

As an organization that represents managers, supervisors, and executives in the federal government, including at the Internal Revenue Service, it was difficult, but necessary, to take a close look at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the IRS released last week. GAO was asked to “review IRS’s enterprise-wide strategic workforce planning efforts,” and its finding of serious risks to IRS’s mission should not come as a surprise.

As the 116th Congress churns into full gear, it will be bombarded with hordes of people seeking to meet with members of Congress and their office staffs. Corporations, associations, and others have already been making visits for several weeks, introducing themselves to the freshman members of Congress or solidifying previous relationships with more experienced lawmakers.

While much of the news has rightly been dominated by the partial government shutdown and the 2019 pay freeze, the 116th Congress is slowly beginning to turn the gears and get underway. New legislation is being introduced and reintroduced from earlier sessions of Congress. Among the bills that has been reintroduced is the TRICARE Reserve Select Improvement Act (H.R. 613 / S. 164), introduced by Representative Trent Kelly (R-MS) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), respectively. This legislation, referred to the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services, would address an issue the Federal Managers Association (FMA) has been working on for several years.

Much has been written about the current partial government shutdown as it approaches its third week, and rightfully so. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees across the country remain unable to perform their constitutionally-mandated missions until the shuttered agencies and departments are properly funded by Congress and signed into law by the President. Millions of dollars in production are lost and the services Americans count on are simply not performed. As the shutdown continues –without end in sight – another devastating policy towards feds was enforced over the holidays. On the evening of Friday, December 28, 2018, President Trump issued an executive order calling for a freeze of federal employees’ pay in fiscal year 2019.

Late last week Congress agreed to a two-week extension of a Continuing Resolution preventing a partial government shutdown for the time being. The new CR expires on December 21.

Last month, Americans went to the polls to cast their ballots in the midterm elections. As a non-partisan organization, the Federal Managers Association watched the election results closely, supporting both Democrats and Republicans with a track record of working to enhance the federal workforce.

In April, we wrote about the Federal Retirement Fairness Act (H.R. 5389), bipartisan legislation introduced by Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Walter Jones (R-NC). FMA endorsed the bill, which would allow a Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) employee to make a deposit, plus interest, and receive credit toward his or her annuity computation for non-deduction service performed on or after January 1, 1989.

We all saw it coming; it took no one by surprise. In fact, it was a mere formality when it did happen, but at the end of August, when the administration formally called for a pay freeze for all civilian federal employees for Fiscal Year 2019, it was disappointing nonetheless. The formal rationale for the pay freeze was due to “national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare,” from an administration that continues to boast unprecedented economic gains. And it came despite the federal workforce already contributing more than $182 billion towards deficit reduction since 2011 through a three-year pay freeze, reduced pay increases, unpaid furlough days, and two increases in retirement contributions for new hires, without any additional benefits.

Score another legislative victory for the Federal Managers Association (FMA)! In last month’s ‘Hear it from FMA’ we touted the successful repeal of Department of Defense policy that reduced long-term TDY per diems. And this past Wednesday, August 22, Congress finalized passage of Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Transition Improvement Act of 2017 (S. 899), which will provide disabled veteran leave to qualified new hires of Title 38. This bipartisan bill, authored by Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) is headed to President Trump’s desk for his signature into law.

The Federal Managers Association (FMA) is an organization dedicated to representing the interests of managers in the federal government on Capitol Hill, and one of the primary reasons people join is for our legislative advocacy. Thanks in large part to that advocacy, the Department of Defense (DOD) will soon be prohibited from reducing the long-term temporary duty (TDY) per diems for all DOD civilian and uniformed military travelers based on duration of the assignment.

It has been two weeks since the administration formally unveiled its long-awaited agency reorganization plan, called “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century.” We at FMA have heard from many of our members and continue to analyze the merits for reform.

This article went to print hours before the administration signed three executive orders into law significantly curbing rights for federal workers.

Those who truly know federal service understand that working for the government is not just another job. You apply yourself to hard work, day after day.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase “good enough for government work”?

It is fair to say those who choose to become part of the federal workforce do not do so to make a fortune.

There are many reasons the all-volunteer United States military is the best-trained, most lethal force the world has ever known.

On Thursday, November 2nd, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform marked up the EQUALS Act of 2017 (H.R. 4182) by a vote of 19 – 17. H.R. 4182 was introduced by Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and would extend the probationary period for employees entering the federal workforce to two years upon the completion of formal training.