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.

FMA National President Craig Carter visited Washington, D.C., to meet with legislators and Administration officials on FMA priorities during the week of September 9. Carter met with staff from the Offices of Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Derek Kilmer (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). Additionally, he spoke with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, and Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Rob Shriver.

Carter discussed many FMA legislative priorities with these legislators and their staff including Fiscal Year 2025 funding, repeal of Social Security’s Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision, the Federal Retirement Fairness Act (H.R. 5995), telework legislation, and hiring reform, among other issues. His meeting with OPM’s Shriver, who assumed the top leadership position in May, continues FMA’s valued relationship with that important agency.

FMA National President Craig Carter and Executive Director Todd Wells proudly represented the Federal Managers Association at this year’s presentation of Service to America Medals, more commonly known as “The Sammies.” This is always an uplifting and remarkable event as federal employees are recognized for their hard work and for attaining notable success. Stand-up comic and television host W. Kamau Bell served as the ceremony’s emcee. Special gala speakers included White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan, Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves, OMB Deputy Director Jason Miller, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal, and author and journalist Michael Lewis.

For a complete review of the winners of each category, visit the Partnership for Public Service. FMA looks forward to providing a more detailed overview of these impressive federal employees in the winter issue of The Federal Manager magazine.

On August 30 President Biden formalized his planned 2 percent pay raise, as previously announced in his Fiscal Year 2025 budget request. The 2 percent raise – comprised of a 1.7 percent across-the-board raise and an average 0.3 percent boost to locality pay – was included in a letter to Congress. This disappointment comes after two years of reasonable pay raises – 5.2 percent in 2024 and 4.6 percent in 2023.

Both the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill for Financial Services and General Government stay silent on the issue of a pay raise, in effect endorsing President Biden’s alternative pay plan. The uniformed military is slated to receive a 4.5 percent raise for 2025. FMA supports the 4.5 percent raise for active military and has advocated for pay parity for feds. Federal employees work side-by-side with their uniformed military colleagues and there is no excuse for failing to reward them evenly.

The House and Senate returned to Washington, D.C., following the August recess with limited time remaining before funding of the federal government expires. There are nine legislative days remaining to prevent a government shutdown and fund Fiscal Year 2025 before current funding – finalized in March of this year – expires.

The House of Representatives was expected to vote on September 11 on a six-month continuing resolution (H.R. 9494) that was linked to a voting restriction bill, however it was not considered due to a lack of support. This bill may return, as congressional leaders look for a path forward. If the measure were to pass the House, this CR would likely not be supported by the Senate because of its inclusion of the SAVE Act (H.R. 8281).

The length of a potential CR is also an issue that needs to be addressed. Some decision makers are supporting a 6-month CR that would punt the funding debate to the 119th Congress and a new administration in the White House. Others desire a shorter-term CR, with a draft bill that would expire on December 13.

The effort to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision (GPO/WEP) – a long-time FMA issue brief – continues to gain significant momentum in the 118th Congress.

Last month, the Senate version of the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 597) surpassed the 60-cosponsor threshold – enough votes to override a filibuster. More recently, on Tuesday, September 10, Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) filed a discharge petition to expedite the will of the House and require a vote on the House version (H.R. 82). H.R. 82 has 326 cosponsors and is the second-most cosponsored bill in the 118th Congress. As of Friday, September 13, the discharge petition had 171 bipartisan signatories. 218 signatures would trigger a vote on the House floor.

“On behalf of the managers and supervisors currently serving or retired from the federal government, and whose interests are represented by the Federal Managers Association (FMA), we are grateful for the tireless work of Reps. Graves and Spanberger to repeal both the GPO and WEP and strongly support the discharge petition they filed this week,” FMA National President Craig Carter wrote in a press release. Carter met with staff of both Rep. Graves and Spanberger during his trip to Washington, D.C., during the week of September 9, meeting with Rep. Graves’ staff immediately after she delivered the discharge petition. FMA also met with staff from the office of Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), who signed the petition later that day.

On July 31 the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously advanced the Chance to Compete Act (S. 59), commonsense bipartisan legislation endorsed by FMA that reduces unnecessary burdens to job hiring in the federal workforce. The measure passed by a vote of 11-0 and is cleared for consideration on the Senate floor. The House of Representatives passed similar legislation by a vote of 422-2 in January 2023.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) introduced the bill, along with Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN), James Lankford (R-OK) and Tom Carper (D-DE). To read Sen. Sinema's press release following the committee action, click here.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are making significant efforts to improve the federal hiring experience, focusing on tools to recruit, hire, and retain federal employees. On August 14, they released a joint memorandum on this work, aimed at data analytics, the applicant experience, the hiring manager experience, and empowering human resource professionals. Click here to view the memo in full, as well as guidance and resources for implementation.

Officials from OMB and OPM briefed FMA and other members of the Government Managers Coalition in early September on these initiatives. They asked us to share the following information with all FMA members:

Are you approaching retirement? The Office of Personnel Management website offers a Retirement Quick Guide that shares what feds can expect as they navigate the retirement application process, how benefits are determined, and guidelines related to their interim and annuity payments. You can also view a three-page printable PDF version of the quick guide here: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/retirement-quick-guide/opm-retirement-quick-guide.pdf.

Gather with fellow FMA members to network, discuss the work of FMA, and have some fun in Jacksonville, Florida! The FMA Regions 1 & 2 Conference, hosted by FMA Chapters 11 (FRC-East) and 396 (Mayport) will be conducted October 18-19, 2024, at the Hilton Home 2 Suites. The conference promises some excellent training, information sharing, and fun networking.

The registration table will be open from 3 PM to 6 PM on Friday, October 18, followed by dinner and social time from 6 PM to 11 PM. Training and the conference will commence at 8 AM on Saturday, October 19, followed by a team building event.

There is a registration fee of $60. Please RSVP and email a list of attendees to Genesiscox@gmail.com by September 24, 2024.

Click here for more information, including the link to book your hotel room. We look forward to seeing you there!