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 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 Adam Kay at akay@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.

FMA attended a House Oversight and Reform Committee Mark-up on July 20, 2021. This hearing featured a markup of the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act (H.R. 564), sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), which would provide an additional twelve weeks of paid family leave to federal employees.

These twelve weeks of paid leave could be used not only if the federal employee themselves became sick, but also would allow feds to take extra time off to serve as a caretaker for sick family members, or in connection with a family member or spouse leaving for or returning from Active-Duty military service. The Oversight and Reform Committee voted 24-16 to advance the legislation for consideration by the entire House.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has voted to include a 2.7 percent pay raise for uniformed military service members as well as for civilian DoD employees. This matches the 2.7 percent raise for federal employees proposed in President Biden’s budget proposal, and tacitly endorsed by both House and Senate. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) had this to say about the 2.7 percent raise for feds: “We might finally include a pay raise for civilians that matches inflation,” she said. “I consider this a down payment after a decade that saw civilian pay fail to keep pace with inflation amid attempts by prior administrations to reduce benefits for the civilian workforce.”

On July 29, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order stating federal employees, and federal contractors working at federal installations, either be fully vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, or wear masks while indoors and agree to regular testing to ensure they have not contracted Covid-19.

Locality pay exists because some areas have significantly different costs of living from others. San Francisco, for example, has a locality pay 41.4% higher than federal General Schedule base pay. This is because of the vastly higher cost of living in San Francisco compared to much of the country; while the median rent in San Francisco costs $3,035 per month, the median rent in the state of West Virginia is $727 per month. Achieving the same lifestyle in some areas simply costs more than in others, which is why the federal government adjusts pay rates based on where you work.

Frank Kendall was confirmed as Secretary of the Air Force by the Senate and sworn in on July 28, 2021. In his capacity as Secretary of the Air Force, Kendall will serve as the top civilian overseeing the Air Force and Space Force.