On Thursday, September 15, the House of Representatives passed the Preventing a Patronage System Act (H.R. 302) by a vote of 225-204.

FMA strongly supports the bill, which would prevent any future administration -- Democrat or Republican -- from reviving Schedule F. We supported President Biden's action to rescind the Executive Order that originally created Schedule F in October 2020, and swiftly endorsed the Preventing a Patronage System Act (H.R. 302), sponsored by House Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) when it was introduced early in the 117th Congress, as well as the inclusion of the bill language in two other legislative vehicles that have passed the House. We urge the Senate to consider and vote favorably on H.R. 302.

House of Representatives will vote on September 14, 2022

FMA strongly supports legislation to prevent any future administration -- Democrat or Republican -- from reviving Schedule F. We supported President Biden's action to rescind the Executive Order that originally created Schedule F, and swiftly endorsed the Preventing a Patronage System Act (H.R. 302), sponsored by House Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) when it was introduced early in the 117th Congress, as well as the inclusion of the bill language in two other legislative vehicles that have passed the House. We are pleased the House will vote today on the stand-alone bill and urge its passage.

FMA writes a monthly column, "Hear it from FMA," published on FEDmanager.com. This month's article, published on September 6, 2022, defends the Internal Revenue Service from unwarranted attacks as they try to simply do their jobs on behalf of all Americans.

It seems unlikely that anyone particularly “likes” paying taxes. Most Americans do, however, like health care, a strong military to protect and defend our interests, and Social Security – the three top budget items our federal tax dollars are spent on – not to mention the myriad other services Americans receive for their tax payments. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is regrettably no stranger to abuse from Capitol Hill, and the agency’s budget and staffing have declined for many years as a result. The negative rhetoric against the IRS from many elected leaders in DC has ramped up in recent weeks since the inclusion of $80 billion over ten years to help the agency enforce the nation’s tax laws. We’ve seen calls to defund or abolish the IRS, messages imploring people to not accept IRS jobs, and even threats to IRS employees. This is misguided, dangerous, and unacceptable.

FMA contributes to the quarterly FEDforum, hosted on FedManager.com. The prompt for this quarter's article was "back to square one."

In many ways, a federal employee who has been promoted to become a manager or supervisor is starting at square one. And at the beginning, you need all the help and support you can get, you need all the help and support you can get.

With new challenges and unknowns, things to learn like how to deal with poor performers, and a shift of focus from ‘getting things done’ to enabling others to get things done, among many other shifts and priorities. The Federal Managers Association (FMA) recognizes the challenges these new managers face and is ready to be of immediate assistance. These new managers may have years of experience and valuable knowledge, but for many, this new beginning requires a completely new toolkit to allow them to become successful managers and leaders. Some agencies do better than others about providing managerial training quickly. Sadly, we have heard of many other instances where training was delayed for many months. In either case, FMA stands ready to assist these new managers find their way to becoming the best leaders they can be, while also looking out for their interests.

Hear it from FMA, FEDMANAGER.COM -

The last update to federal telework policy was the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, more than twelve years ago—long before the Covid-19 pandemic forced most Americans to quarantine and rely on telework. Given the monumental advances in technology and the best practices learned in recent years, the Federal Managers Association (FMA) is encouraged to see telework policy being discussed again, and proud to endorse the Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act (H.R. 7951), introduced by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD). We applauded the House Committee on Oversight and Reform vote to advance the bill for consideration on the full House floor.

Federal Managers Groups Largely Support Trump OPM Pick

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The Trump administration’s nomination of George Nesterczuk to serve as director of the Office of Personnel Management is already making waves among groups that represent federal workers.

While groups representing managers voiced varying levels of support for the announcement Wednesday, a union official was warier of the choice.