In This Issue Legislative Outreach FMA Working For You! Media Matters Get Involved At These Events! | FMA Washington Report: January 11, 2021 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 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. Legislative Outreach Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations, A Pay Raise for 2021, and Covid-19 Relief On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the FY2021 Omnibus and COVID Relief and Response Act into law (P.L. 116-260). It provides funding for all agencies and departments through the remainder of Fiscal Year 2021. In a statement following its signature into law, FMA National President Craig Carter said, “FMA reminds Congress that delaying appropriations and flirting with government shutdowns results in egregious costs and waste, even if a shutdown is averted. It takes significant time and resources for agencies to prepare for a potential shutdown when they should be fulfilling agency missions. Efficient government requires the ability to plan for the future and function without unnecessary interruption. FMA implores the next Congress to bring an end to the current pattern of costly and unnecessary CR’s and destructive government shutdowns.” National Defense Authorization Act Becomes Law Despite Veto On January 1, 2021, the Senate voted to override President Trump’s veto of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 81-13. This followed a 322-87 vote earlier that week in the House of Representatives. As a result, the FY 2021 NDAA became law. The final bill includes many FMA priorities we supported throughout the legislative process. Of major significance, the bill allows federal workers to carry over additional leave into 2021 due to the exigencies of the Covid-19 pandemic, by raising the cap 25 percent. FMA worked tirelessly with legislators to address this issue since May 2020. On Tuesday, January 5, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance on implementing this provision. To see this guidance, please click here or check the announcements section on the front page of www.fedmanagers.org.  The Shape of the 117th Congress With the last special elections and challenges resolved, the shape of the 117th Congress is now clear. The Democratic candidates won both Senate runoff elections in Georgia, resulting in a 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. Ties will be broken by Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to be Senate Majority Leader. It will be up to Senator Schumer to determine what legislation gets considered on the Senate floor. Moderates such as Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Senator Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) will have a major influence on what legislation passes. FMA Working For You! FMA 2021 Issue Briefs As we gear up for FMA's 83rd annual National Convention, we are seeking your feedback on FMA's legislative agenda. You can access the executive summary below, or by clicking on this link. The Executive Summary covers many issues FMA will address in the first session of the 117th Congress. Please let us know of any recommended modifications to the draft. Contact Greg Stanford via email at gstanford@fedmanagers.org or by phone at (703) 683-8700, ext. 104. Please forward recommendations by Thursday, January 21, 2021. Media Matters Hear It from FMA in FEDManager.com Each month, FMA writes a “Hear it from FMA” column for the monthly FEDManager.com newsletter. Our most recent column focused on the issue of paying feds more as a matter of fiscal responsibility. In any workforce, filling a vacant position costs significant amounts of money. With more than 60 percent of federal employees staying for less than two years after being hired, these costs are unacceptably high. Paying federal workers significantly more to encourage them to stay in the federal government would be an excellent cost-saving measure, and would have major upsides for taxpayers and federal workers. To read the full column, click here: Be Fiscally Responsible – Pay Feds a Market Wage to End Expensive Turnover — FEDmanager. Get Involved At These Events! FMA Telework Social Hour Join your colleagues for an FMA Social Hour on Zoom at 8:00 PM Eastern, January 19! Hear from your fellow federal managers about their lessons learned on how to best manage and get the most out of teleworking. Come prepared to have a fun evening with your fellow FMA members, and consider bringing a cocktail or mocktail of your choice. Are you willing to share your own experiences with telework? We (and your fellow managers) would love to hear about what worked, your lessons learned, and any pitfalls to be wary of. |
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