Several federal employee organizations have said that an opportunity may be at hand to gain relief from two Social Security-related offsets affecting many federal retirees, although that relief may come as less than a full repeal.

The two provisions are called the government pension offset and the windfall elimination provision, both of which commonly affect those who are retired, or will retire, under the CSRS program which does not include Social Security. The former offset commonly reduces any personal Social Security benefit earned through other employment while the latter reduces and often eliminates a spousal or survivor Social Security benefit. While CSRS now makes up only about 5 percent of the active workforce, two-thirds of federal retirees went out under that system and about two-fifths of new retirees are under CSRS.

FMA supports both the pay raise and the spending deal. We urge the Senate to approve the measures, and President Trump to sign the bills into law, prior to the expiration of the current continuing resolution.    

Former Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen (R-IL) reportedly once said, “a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” In recent years, untold billions have been squandered each year due to continuing resolutions (CRs).

Most recently, on November 21, Congress finalized, and President Trump signed another continuing resolution (CR) into law. The second CR of Fiscal Year 2020, this one funds the federal government through December 20, 2019.

Six federal employees were recognized Oct. 16 as outstanding examples of federal service and recipients of the Partnership for Public Service’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to American Medals.

“Our nation’s health and safety depend in significant measure on the work of career civil servants, who are largely unknown to the American people,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, in a news release. “We are working to change that with our Service to America Medals, which are designed to showcase the remarkable work taking place every day on behalf of all of us. When we have a great workforce, we get big problems fixed.”

The Senate on Thursday afternoon sent a seven-week continuing resolution to the president’s desk, delaying the possibility of another government shutdown until Nov. 21.

The measure passed the Senate with a 82-15 vote. The CR would fund agencies at 2019 levels through Nov. 21, buying lawmakers more time to negotiate over several full-year appropriations bills. The House overwhelmingly cleared the bill last week.