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.

After almost six months of Continuing Resolutions, it had begun to look likely that the entirety of FY2022 would be conducted under a series of CRs. Starting in the week of March 7 however, Congress kicked into high gear. On March 9, 2022, the House passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, with a final margin of 361-69. On March 10, less than 24 hours later the Senate passed their version of the omnibus bill with a margin of 68-31. President Biden signed the bill into law on Friday, March 11, 2022, fully funding the government through the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022.

Each month, FMA writes a monthly partner column with FEDweek. The following originally ran in the March 8, 2022 edition of FEDweek.

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, the Senate finally acted to confirm two of President Biden’s nominees for the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), restoring a quorum to an MSPB that has languished without one for more than five years. Craig Carter, Federal Managers Association’s (FMA) National President, had the following to say on this key development.

On March 8, 2022, the Senate passed the $107 billion Postal Service Reform Act (H.R. 3076, S. 1720) by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 79-19. The Postal Service Reform Act previously passed the House last month by a margin of 342-92. This bill is intended to address long-term financial challenges for the USPS, including repealing a mandate that required the USPS to pre-fund retirement for all employees, and is expected to save the USPS nearly $50 billion over the next decade. This much-needed reform was a key step in addressing structural issues created by the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

On March 8, 2022, Reps. Jody Hice (R-Ga) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced the Chance to Compete Act (H.R.6967). This bill works to codify recent changes made by both the Trump Administration and the Biden Administration intended to ensure that applicants with relevant skills will be considered for federal positions with less regard for specific degree thresholds. The companion bill (S.3423) in the Senate was introduced on January 13, 2022, by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN). The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee favorably reported S. 3423 during a markup in February.

President Biden is expected to propose a 4.6 percent raise for federal employees in 2023, although it is unknown what percentage of this would be a locality pay increase. If adopted by Congress, 4.6 percent would be the largest raise in decades. How does this raise stack up in context?

We're pleased to announce that OPM Director Kiran Ahuja will be the keynote speaker at the 2022 FMA National Convention! Join us in Alexandria from March 27 to March 30, 2022. This year's offerings will include everything from informative training sessions to happy hours where you can meet managers from across the federal government. We've even been promised that at least one of our Region Directors will be wearing a chicken suit in honor of the region who recruits the most new members this year.