This report provides an update on issues affecting federal managers. As always, I encourage you to visit www.fedmanagers.org on a regular basis for more information on these and other matters.

Also, be sure to look for the monthly FMA Grassroots Update, where we offer links to action letters and FMA-PAC matters we do not address in the Washington Report. The grassroots newsletter is sent exclusively to non-governmental email addresses to avoid any Hatch Act violations. If you are not receiving it, contact the national office to provide your non-governmental email address.

Please feel free to provide feedback any time by emailing Greg Stanford at gstanford@fedmanagers.org or by calling the National Office at (703) 683-8700. Thank you for your membership in FMA. It’s an honor to represent your interests before Congress and the administration.

Congressional leaders are optimistic about ongoing bipartisan discussions to prevent a lapse in funding before the current continuing resolution (CR) expires on December 20. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested negotiations were “on the right track.” However, he cautioned a need to “keep divisive and unnecessary provisions out of any government funding extension, or else it will get harder to pass a CR in time.”

The length of the next CR remains to be determined. Many in Congress are pushing for an extension into March to allow the 119th Congress and the incoming Trump Administration to work directly on appropriations going forward. Legislators will need to be mindful to finalize full-year appropriations by the end of April 2025. Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, if they pass into May 2025 under a CR, both defense and non-defense funding levels will be reduced by 1 percent.

Legislators have yet to agree on topline numbers – the overall spending level for Fiscal Year 2025 – so they have a lot of work to accomplish to allocate funding across the government. They will be busy in the new year, as the Senate will be confirming President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominees and navigating major budget reconciliation packages in an ambitious agenda. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) noted, “We’ve got to do a lot of things at the same time . . . we’re going to be walking and chewing gum.”

On Tuesday, November 12, the House of Representatives passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), FMA-endorsed legislation that would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), passed by a vote of 327-75.

FMA National President Craig Carter celebrated the momentous accomplishment, saying, “On behalf of the managers and supervisors currently serving or retired from the federal government, and whose interests are represented by the Federal Managers Association (FMA), we applaud the House of Representatives for voting to bring fairness to millions of Social Security beneficiaries. The resounding and momentous bipartisan vote on the House floor comes after decades of effort to repeal these odious provisions that callously reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for millions of public servants and their beneficiaries.”

“This important bill is needed to prevent the unjust withholding of nearly $200 billion from these civil servants in the next ten years,” Carter said. “It is difficult to put into words the tragedy of the benefits that have been earned but kept from these public servants dating back to the 1980s. We are grateful for the tireless work of Reps. Graves and Spanberger, and we are thrilled with their successful push in the House. We urge the Senate to consider this bill in the remaining days of the 118th Congress to provide this long-overdue relief for the public servants impacted by the GPO and WEP. It is time to retire these provisions to the dustbin of history for the good of all civil servants who have been deprived of what they’ve earned for far too long.”

The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is inching closer to completion, with final votes anticipated next week, if all goes to plan. If successful, it would mark the 64th consecutive year the NDAA has been completed. The 118th Congress is nearing its conclusion, and the last scheduled legislative day is December 19.

Sources say negotiations across both the House and Senate have concluded and a draft compromise conference report has been drafted. Decision makers hope to file the conference report by the end of the week of December 2, and to vote on it next week in order to send it to President Biden. We expect the House to vote on the package first, followed by the Senate.

Earlier this week Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he is "hopeful that we are close to beginning the process of moving a bipartisan bill through both chambers. The NDAA has been passed without fail for decades with cooperation from both sides, and I hope this year there is no exception. Few priorities matter more than providing for our national defense and taking care of our troops in uniform and their families."

Congressional Republicans are planning an ambitious strategy using budget reconciliation early in the 119th Congress. Reports indicate top priorities will include an initial defense, energy, and border package in the first month of the new administration, followed by a second package that would renew the 2017 tax cuts that are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.

Details about what will specifically be included in the packages are scarce at this time. However, sources indicate incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and other leaders are pursuing the reconciliation process to quickly advance legislative priorities. Speaker Johnson attended a Senate policy meeting earlier this week to discuss potential options.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-leaders of President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) met with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss and share ideas. The 119th Congress will include a DOGE Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, to be chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will chair a Senate DOGE Caucus, while Reps. Aaron Bean (R-FL) and Pete Sessions (R-TX) will co-chair the House DOGE Caucus.

FMA has expressed interest in working with all parties on DOGE, ensuring bipartisan congressional oversight as the panel produces ideas and initiatives to cut costs within the federal government.

One common refrain that emerged from Musk and Ramaswamy’s meetings with legislators was a desire to eliminate or significantly reduce telework moving forward. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said, “One of the first things that I think you'll see is a demand from the new administration, from all of us here in Congress, that federal workers return to their desks and get back to the work that they're supposed to be doing. I think that is common sense.”

The open season for 2025 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program health benefits, dental and vision insurance, and flexible spending accounts closes soon -- on December 9, 2024.

OPM has many resources available on its website, including information on enrollment for FEHB and FEDVIP (dental and vision), recommendations on what to consider during open season, an open season manual, and more.

Martin O’Malley resigned as Social Security Administration Commissioner effective at the end of November. President Biden tapped Carolyn Colvin, who previously served as Acting Commissioner of Social Security from 2013 to 2017, to serve in that capacity during the transition into the Trump Administration.

O’Malley served as Commissioner of SSA since December 20, 2023, and is seeking to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Are you approaching retirement? The Office of Personnel Management website offers a Retirement Quick Guide that shares what feds can expect as they navigate the retirement application process, how benefits are determined, and guidelines related to their interim and annuity payments. You can also view a three-page printable PDF version of the quick guide here.