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., during the week of June 19 for meetings on Capitol Hill to advance FMA’s issue briefs.

He and FMA Executive Director Todd Wells attended a reception and breakfast with the Crane Congressional Delegation, co-sponsored by FMA Chapter 170 (Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center). Each year, the chapter co-sponsors these annual events which bring together Congressional representatives from Indiana, military leaders, and business and consulting leaders from Southwest Indiana.

The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee advanced its Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill by voice vote on June 22. The measure, one of twelve annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government, is now cleared for consideration by the full committee. Notably for federal managers, the bill stayed silent on the subject of federal employee pay, effectively endorsing the 5.2 percent pay raise for 2024 as proposed by President Biden.

While there are several potential hurdles that could block the proposed raise, which would be the largest boost since 1980’s 9 percent, this is a positive development for the federal workforce writ large. The bill does include provisions aimed at telework, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and more.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) completed its markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on June 23. The committee advanced the bill by a resounding vote of 24-1. The bill includes a 5.2 percent raise for members of the military and civilians at the Department of Defense (DOD), in line with President Biden’s FY24 budget request. This is another positive step toward a 5.2 percent pay raise, as discussed in the below article on the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill.

“The 63rd annual NDAA supports a total of $886.3 billion in fiscal year 2024 funding for national defense. Within this topline, the legislation authorizes $844.3 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $32.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE),” according to the executive summary of the SASC-passed bill. Read the executive summary here.

The House Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Subcommittee held a hearing titled, “Please Leave Your Message at the Tone: Addressing Post-Pandemic Backlogs and Delays at Federal Agencies,” to examine customer service backlogs at government agencies and the plans agencies have to deliver services to the American people.

Topics addressed in the hearing included Social Security claims processing, delays in obtaining military and civil service personnel records, and passport applications. The committee heard from Chad M. Poist, Deputy Commissioner for Budget, Finance, and Management, United States Social Security Administration; Scott Levins, Director, National Personnel Records Center; and, The Honorable Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State. To view a recording of the hearing, click here.

On June 14 the Republican Study Committee (RSC) released a Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal, called, “Protecting America’s Economic Security.” The 167-page plan, which you can view here, contains more than 220 bills, and declares it would cut spending by more than $16 trillion, reduce taxes by more than $5 trillion over ten years, and balance the federal budget in seven years.

In a statement on its release, RS Chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK) said, “Our budget proves that fiscal responsibility is the only way to lower inflation, grow the economy, cut federal spending, empower taxpayers, and protect small businesses. . . Nearly every problem facing our government can be traced back to our failure to both pass a budget and stick to it. The Republican Study Committee has a budget, and it balances in just seven years. Our budget is real, and it’s floor-ready. It’s time to get our country back on track!”

In March, OPM launched a Retirement Quick Guide that shares what feds can expect through 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.

Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Retiree Identification (ID) Cards are no longer issued pursuant to a February 17, 2023, memo issued by Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros, titled “Department of Defense Civilian Retiree Identification Card Termination.” We know many FMA members are already aware of this, however we wanted to share what we have learned about the background and ramifications of this change. Current retiree IDs remain valid through August 31, 2023.

According to information available from the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Services, “The implementation of the REAL ID Act has eliminated the requirement for the DOD Civilian Retiree ID Card authorized by the memorandum previously in effect, dated August 26, 2009. The limited use of morale, welfare and recreation activities by DOD civilian retirees will remain at the discretion of the installation commander, subject to the DOD civilian retiree meeting the requirements for installation access.”

On June 28, the Office of Personnel Management proposed new regulations on behalf of the President’s Pay Agent to change the geographic boundaries of General Schedule locality pay areas. The proposed changes would take effect on January 1, 2024. Ultimately, the regulations would implement four new locality pay areas:

• Fresno-Madera-Hanford, Calif.;

• Reno-Fernley, Nev.;

• Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, N.Y.; and,

• Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d’Alene, Wash. and Idaho.

On June 28, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kiran Ahuja released a memo to remind agencies and employees of the human resources flexibilities and procedures available to assist feds in the event of severe weather, disasters, and other emergency situations. The topics addressed include weather and safety leave, telework, evacuation payments, the Emergency Leave Transfer Program, and more.

To view the full memo, click here.

On June 14, the Government Accountability Office released its 13th annual report, “Additional Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Billions of Dollars in Financial Benefits.” You can view the report here. GAO uses this report to spotlight “opportunities to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in federal programs—as well as chances to save money and increase revenue.”

The GAO provides Congress, the heads of executive agencies, and the public, with timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can be used to improve government and save taxpayers billions of dollars. It celebrated 100 years of service to the country in 2021.