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.

With just 14 legislative days scheduled between now and the end of Fiscal Year 2025, a partial government shutdown or a continuing resolution appears likely. Some in Congress are already advocating for a full-year CR to fund Fiscal Year 2026, which begins on October 1, 2025.

The government is currently running on a continuing resolution that expires on September 30.

Prior to leaving for the August recess, Republicans in Congress passed the Trump Administration’s recissions package over loud objections from Democrats, which claws back $9.4 billion the body had previously appropriated – approximately $8.3 billion in foreign aid $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). As a result, the CPB, which supports more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public radio and television stations across the country, such as the Pubic Broadcasting Service (PBS), announced in an August 1 press release that it will “begin an orderly wind-down of its operations.” Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought said additional recission packages to rescind more congressionally appropriated funds are likely in the future.

Federal employees at the nation’s four public shipyards would be exempt from any hiring freeze or workforce reductions related to spending cuts, reprogramming of funds, or the probationary status of employees under new legislation introduced on August 1 by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). The Protecting Public Naval Shipyards (PNSY) Act (S. 2648), cosponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Angus King (I-ME), would ensure that the maintenance and overhaul of America’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet continues uninterrupted. The bill, endorsed by FMA, was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Protecting PNSY Act would require the Department of Defense to exempt positions at the four public shipyards – Portsmouth, Norfolk, Puget Sound, and Pearl Harbor – from workforce reductions that are critical to maintenance and that support the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP).

You can view the full bill text here.

On July 23, Representative Gil Cisneros (D-CA) sent letters to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) requesting they investigate concerns about reductions in force (RIFs) at the two agencies and the impact of services and casework processing. Cisneros was joined by 52 colleagues – all Democrats – on the letter to IRS Commissioner Billy Long. The letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano was signed by 58 total members.

“Congressional casework is essential to ensure our taxpayers get their refunds, our seniors get their checks, and our constituents get prompt and accurate responses from federal agencies,” Cisneros wrote in a press statement. “I am leading 50+ House Democrats in letters to the IRS and SSA to ensure our constituent casework isn’t affected by the reckless RIFs.”

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) marked up its version of the bill on July 15, culminating with a strong bipartisan vote of 55-2 to advance the bill out of committee. This followed the Senate Armed Services Committee’s July 11 passage of its own version by a vote of 26-1. The bills are now cleared to be considered by the full House and Senate chambers, where they could be further amended.

“For the 65^th consecutive year, House Armed Services Committee Democrats and Republicans have worked across the aisle to craft a bipartisan defense bill,” said HASC Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) in a statement. “The bill as passed out of committee ensures service members and their families remain among our core priorities. It also authorizes critically needed investment in America’s industrial base so we can get to capacity in terms of critical munitions and other critical technologies. I am proud to work with my colleague and friend, Chairman Mike Rogers, in passing this package out of committee in the spirit of bipartisan compromise and with a shared commitment to ensuring that we continue to provide for the common defense. I urge Speaker Johnson to take up this legislation in that same spirit of bipartisanship and work with both sides of the aisle to ensure that it remains focused on the core priorities and needs of our armed forces and national security to ensure bipartisan passage on the House floor later this year.”

On July 16, Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) introduced the Protecting Federal Employee Rights to Personnel Files Act of 2025 (H.R. 4440) in the House of Representatives, a bill that would require agencies to provide a separated employee with a copy of their official personnel file, in electronic and physical form, no later than 7 days after their date of separation. This policy change would apply to any separation of employment, whether from retirement, termination, changing federal agencies, or otherwise.

FMA endorsed the bill, which currently has 15 cosponsors, as these employees need documents for taxes, other employment, or for potential unemployment claims. While employees Online Personnel Files are sent to the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis and former employees can request copies of any document in their OPFs from the NPRC, H.R. 4440 would more readily aid separated employees.

After weeks of significant activity in the Senate, both chambers passed a modified version of the landmark “One Big Beautiful Act” (H.R. 1), meeting the GOP’s self-imposed deadline of July 4. President Trump signed the bill into law on the holiday.

The bill, considered the centerpiece of President Trump’s legislative agenda, narrowly passed with only Republican votes in both chambers, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the deciding vote in the Senate. The bill creates or extends significant tax cuts and provides hundreds of billions of dollars of increased spending on defense, border security and energy dominance, among many other provisions which are still coming to light.

The final score from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years.

Federal employees will see a pay freeze in 2026 based on President Trump’s initial budget request for Fiscal Year 2026, released in early May, and additional details included in a technical supplement released in June.

This is a blow to federal employees, who already earn nearly 25 percent less than their counterparts in the private sector, but it is not yet the end of the process. Later this month President Trump will send his annual alternative pay plan letter to Congress, which could include a pay boost.

The uniformed military is slated to receive a 3.8 percent pay boost in 2026.

Agencies will redouble efforts to “rightsize” the federal workforce in the wake of the Supreme Court’s July 8 opinion allowing the Trump Administration’s mass reductions in force (RIFs) to proceed, according to Office of Management Budget Deputy Director for Management Eric Ueland. He said agencies will “address the question of, ‘Do we have the right people in the right place, and, at times, do we have too many people in the wrong place?’”

Both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education had sent RIF notices before the legal battle, and began moving forward in their efforts. The State Department followed suit with RIF notices sent to approximately 1,100 civil servants and 250 foreign service officers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) anticipates moving more than half of its employees outside of the Washington, D.C., area as part of its reorganization plans. These employees would be reassigned to one of five regional hubs around the country (Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and, Salt Lake City, Utah). USDA has employees at these regional hubs already, and the administration noted the cost of living at these locations is significantly lower than around Washington, D.C.

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the impending relocations saying, “President Trump was elected to make real change in Washington, and we are doing just that by moving our key services outside the beltway and into great American cities across the country.”

Approximately 2,600 of the current 4,600 employees currently working in the National Capital Region would be impacted. Roughly 90 percent of the current USDA workforce is already based outside of the Washington, D.C., area.

The Federal Managers Association is holding its next Town Hall meeting on Sunday, August 24, at 7 pm Eastern Time.

FMA national leadership and staff will report on how passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill may affect feds, and more importantly, how FMA was able to remove costly increases to benefits, saving feds thousands of dollars each year.

This will also be a good chance to share any concerns you have, hear what others are experiencing in their federal workplaces, and to learn from each other. Hearing from our members is invaluable and informs our discussions with members of Congress.