As discussed last month, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is indispensable legislation that authorizes funding levels for the Department of Defense (DOD), as well as policies. It is considered “must pass” legislation, and has been adopted every year since 1960. Both the House and the Senate have approved their versions of the Fiscal Year 2021 NDAA (S. 4049 / H.R. 6395). The House passed H.R. 6395 on July 21 by a vote of 295-125, while the Senate approved S. 4049 on July 23 by a veto-proof vote of 86-14. President Trump has expressed concerns with S. 4049 as passed, and has indicated he may veto the bill. However, before the NDAA can be sent to Trump’s desk, the House and Senate must reconcile the differences between their bills and approve a conference report.

A Federal News Network analysis suggested there are “slim pickings on big federal workforce changes” in this year’s NDAA. And while it is true there are few major provisions affecting feds in either S. 4049 or H.R. 6395, FMA is pleased both bills include several wins for federal managers. 

FMA priorities are included in the current versions of the legislation. Notably, the House adopted an FMA-endorsed amendment offered by Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) that would restore annual leave that is lost by federal employees due to their work during a pandemic. In May, Rep. Wexton introduced stand-alone legislation on this issue, H.R. 6733, which FMA supports. In fact, thanks to legislative outreach by FMA Chapters 11 and 396, H.R. 6733 became a bipartisan bill. We are working to ensure the leave restoration will be applied as broadly as possible. 

Other provisions included in H.R. 6395 include:

• Family and Medical Leave Amendments (sec. 1101): making technical corrections to the paid parental leave benefit provided by the FY20 NDAA (P.L. 116-92), to cover Federal Aviation Administration employees, Department of Veterans Affairs employees, and others inadvertently omitted.

• Extending premium pay for federal civilian employees working overseas until the end of 2021 (sec. 1104)

• A one-year extension of temporary authority to grant allowances, benefits, and gratuities to civilian personnel on official duty in a combat zone (sec. 1105)

• Limiting the Number of Local Wage Areas Defined within a Pay Locality (sec. 1106): prohibiting the Office of Personnel Management from including more than one local wage area within a General Schedule pay locality in order to align Federal Wage System Areas with General Schedule locality pay areas.

• Creation of a “Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund,” giving $1 billion to “efforts to proactively increase the country’s ability to prepare for and respond to future pandemics.”

Among the provisions of interest to FMA, the Senate version includes:

• A one-year extension of temporary authority to grant allowances, benefits, and gratuities to civilian personnel on official duty in a combat zone (sec. 1111)

• A pilot program on enhanced pay authority for certain high-level management positions in the Department of Defense (sec. 1107)

• Expansion of direct hire authority for certain Department of Defense personnel to include installation military housing office positions supervising privatized military housing (sec. 1105)

• Technical amendments to authority for reimbursement of federal, state, and local income taxes incurred during travel, transportation, and relocation (sec. 1113)

FMA will continue to advocate on behalf of federal managers as House and Senate conferees work on the final conference report. Visit www.fedmanagers.org for the latest information on the work of the Federal Managers Association.