Management
Without budget anomaly, SSA hiring is restricted and overtime is at 'historic lows'
Congress’ refusal to provide additional funding for the Social Security Administration in September’s two-month continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown is kneecapping two tools that are key to combatting the agency’s customer service crisis.
Pay & Benefits
A Senate bill targeting teleworkers’ locality pay now has its companion in the House
Legislation introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., would bar federal workers from receiving locality pay if they telework at least once per week, a move that could amount to a 30% pay cut for many feds.
Management
Legislation calls for creation of an independent office to improve the VA
Rep. Rudy Yakym’s, R-Ind., National Veterans’ Advocate Act, would transform the department’s Office of Patient Advocacy into a standalone body similar to the IRS’ Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate.
Workforce
Bill aims to support federal prison officers with new mental health grant programs
The legislation calls for new funding to provide mental health screenings to federal corrections officers and contractors, enabling possible referrals to health care providers.
Tech
Hill Dems question IRS on identity verification requirements for Direct File
Taxpayers had to go through outsourced identity verification to use Direct File during the last tax season, a level of assurance the lawmakers note is not required for commercial tax prep companies.
News
Congress left D.C. with little done, they’ll be back Nov. 12 to give it another try
The legislative branch remains on recess until after the election, but a robust slate of congressional action remains, from must-past bills and appropriations to Hurricane Helene response.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers consider making military leave more equitable for feds with non-traditional work schedules
Currently, the annual cap on paid leave available to federal employees associated with their service in the National Guard is 15 days, which advocates say works well for traditional weekday work schedules but not for employees who frequently work weekends.
Oversight
Senators debate how to minimize the security risks of federal contractors working with China
Some agencies have blown past deadlines to implement certain requirements that address conflicts of interest in contracting while lawmakers weighed additional guardrails.
Management
Agencies must disclose excess supply policies under bill headed for enactment
Under the legislation, which awaits the president’s signature, agencies must designate an official to identify potentially useful unused items like office equipment and furniture from across the federal government.
Management
A new Senate bill would make it easier to track appointees’ confirmation status
The Improving Senate Confirmation and Vacancy Oversight Act would create a publicly accessible dashboard to track the status of a president’s nominees to the 1,300 Senate-confirmed appointments across government.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers force a vote on eliminating the windfall elimination provision
Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Garrett Graves, R-La., have secured the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on legislation that would kill two controversial tax provisions affecting some feds’ retirement benefits.
Pay & Benefits
Senate advances $3B VA supplemental bill one day before deadline
The chamber approved legislation by voice vote Thursday to provide the Veterans Affairs Department with an extra $3 billion to cover a surge in veterans benefits costs ahead of a potential service disruption.
Pay & Benefits
Senators push to avert pay cliff looming over overseas Foreign Service officers in stopgap spending deal
Foreign Service officers stationed outside the U.S. could see an average pay cut of 22% if the provision undergirding legislation aimed at ensuring commensurate pay between overseas federal workers and their domestically located counterparts is not reauthorized.
Workforce
Congressional committees tackle bills governing telework, marijuana and labor unions
While a Senate panel advanced bills improving telework data reporting by federal agencies and codifying the end of the restriction on federal employees’ past use of marijuana, its House counterpart advanced controversial bills aimed at busting federal employee unions and adding leading questions to the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.
Pay & Benefits
House passes $3B VA supplemental budget ahead of Friday deadline
The chamber advanced the multi-billion-dollar stopgap bill by voice vote Tuesday evening, giving the Senate three days to pass the legislation to cover a budget shortfall.
Tech
Senate Dems ask OMB for more regulations, support to mitigate algorithm bias
Sens. Ed Markey and Chuck Schumer are seeking updated guidance and organizational structures to prevent artificial intelligence from discrimination.
Oversight
Watchdog wants more transparency on DOD’s reprogramming of military pay funds
While GAO did not find that the realignment decreased military benefits, it did urge the Pentagon to provide more information on the funding to Congress.
Management
Additional security will be in place for the Jan. 6, 2025 certification of the presidential vote
Almost four years after the assault on the Capitol, Homeland Security Department officials will designate the congressional certification of the 2024 election a National Special Security Event.
Workforce
O’Malley makes last ditch effort to secure Biden’s budget proposal for Social Security
The commissioner said that without a budget anomaly to boost funding at the agency, the Social Security Administration would need to institute a hiring freeze and would see its workforce fall to a 50-year low.
News