One of the ways FMA communicates what federal managers need to Congress is by meeting with Members of Congress and their staffers. FMA National President Craig Carter visited Washington, D.C. to advocate for FMA priorities at meetings with a variety of House and Senate offices, as well as with Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kiran Ahuja.

The meetings and topics of discussion were as follows:

A meeting with the Office of Senator Kristen Sinema (D-AZ), who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management. Topics of discussion included reestablishing a quorum at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), a renewed push for federally-funded supervisor training, FMA’s FERS Service Credit Buy Back issue brief, and efforts to move forward on hiring reform, among others.

A meeting with the Office of Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA). Topics discussed at this meeting included modernization efforts at the four public shipyards including the SHIPYARD Act, the status of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the status of the two-year probationary period at the DOD and plans to revisit it in the 2023 NDAA, as well as the 2023 FAIR Act and FERS Service Credit Buy Back.

A meeting with the Office of Senator James Lankford (R-OK), who is the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management. Topics discussed at the meeting included reestablishing a quorum at the MSPB, FERS Service Credit Buy Back, advancing hiring reforms, expanding supervisor training, and future plans for the two-year probationary period at DOD.

A meeting with the Office of Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA). Topics discussed at the meeting included the Shipyard Act and necessary shipyard modernization efforts, the 2022 and 2023 NDAA bills, and the two-year probationary period at DOD.

Finally, we held a meeting with OPM Director Kiran Ahuja. This was one of Director Ahuja’s first in-person meetings since being confirmed by the Senate and assuming office, and we were excited to introduce FMA to the Director as an organization and partner. We provided Director Ahuja with an overview of the Federal Managers Association, and discussed our ongoing efforts on behalf of federal managers. Topics discussed at the meeting included appropriations, pay and benefits for federal employees, hiring reform efforts, and the importance of a two-year probationary period, among other topics. We also discussed how FMA can be of assistance to OPM on efforts that OPM is currently working on, with a particular focus on hiring reform, engagement with frontline managers, and the President’s Management Agenda.

All the meetings were highly productive, and helped to lay the foundation for future FMA efforts on behalf of federal managers.