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.

Congress is nearing an agreement on a three-bill Fiscal Year 2026 funding package that would include full-year appropriations for Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, and Energy-Water. The House passed the bill by a vote of 397-28 on January 8, and the Senate is also expected to approve the measure. If approved, those agencies would join Agriculture, Military Construction/VA, and the legislative branch with full funding.

The $180 billion package includes: approximately $81 billion for Commerce-Justice-Science, $38.6 billion for Interior-Environment, and $63.3 billion for Energy-Water.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the three-bill spending package spends “less than another continuing resolution,” delivers critical priorities for members, and advances President Trump’s America First agenda. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) referred to the package as “an important first step,” and said it is “a forceful rejection of draconian cuts to public services.”

On December 16, the House of Representatives approved the Federal Supervisor Education Act of 2025 (H.R. 5810), legislation aimed at improving supervisor training in the federal workforce. The bill, sponsored by Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), passed by voice vote. The Senate must approve the bill for it to go to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

FMA has long supported efforts to enhance training for managers, saying, "An agency’s ability to meet its mission directly correlates to the quality of workforce management. There is a clear need for training if a manager is to be fully successful. Too often, if an agency promotes an individual to managerial status based on technical prowess, but then fails to develop the individual’s supervisory skills, that agency then severely jeopardizes its capability to deliver the level of service the American public expects and does a disservice to both the manager and to the employees supervised by that inadequately developed manager."

On December 18, 2025, President Trump signed the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (S. 1071) into law. This marks the 65^th consecutive year legislators and the administration have come together to pass the bill. The FY26 NDAA authorizes $900.6 billion for the military and the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons programs. It includes a 3.8 percent boost in spending for servicemembers.

While the NDAA authorizes federal funding, Congress must also appropriate spending through an FY2026 funding bill. Defense appropriations are currently operating under a continuing resolution scheduled to expire on January 30.

On December 18, President Trump issued an executive order finalizing a 1 percent pay raise in 2026 for federal employees. The executive order aligns with the alternative pay plan Trump outlined in August 2025, and the raise took effect for the first full pay period after January 1, 2026.

The White House provided pay tables to specify the pay rates for various fed schedules. Additionally, unlike recent years, the 2026 raise does not include an increase in locality pay.

The Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) for social security benefits and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirement annuities in 2026 will be 2.8 percent. This will take effect in January.

The annual COLA is meant to keep federal retirees’ and Social Security recipients’ benefits on pace with rising inflation. The 2026 CSRS retiree COLA is based on the third quarter (July, August, September) average CPI-W index in 2025 over the 2024 third quarter average.

Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) retirees will therefore receive a 2 percent COLA in 2026, based on federal law. The current calculations are as follows:

On December 8, the Office of Management and Budget released the President’s Management Agenda, in accordance with federal statute, to “coordinate priority goals to improve the performance and management of the federal government.

“The President directed his Administration to identify billions of dollars in wasteful spending, millions of square feet of empty office space, and hundreds of thousands of employees in unnecessary roles,” the memo reads. “This Agenda articulates key management reform objectives as priority goals, established by the President's Executive Orders and directives.”

FMA's 88^th National Convention & Management Training Seminar will be held March 22 - 25, 2026, at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. The theme this year is Managing Through Difficult Times and registration is now open. The hotel is conveniently located across the street from the King Street Metro Station and near the FMA National Office.

You can also make your hotel reservations now. For the most up-to-date information, including the convention agenda, visit FMA's convention page regularly.