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.

On Friday, October 7, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kiran Ahuja released two memorandums aimed at assisting Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian recovery efforts.

One memo reminds agencies and employees of “the wide range of human resources (HR) flexibilities and procedures currently available to assist federal employees affected by hurricanes and other emergency situations.” The memo, which you can read here, provides helpful links on topics including weather and safety leave, telework, evacuation payments, Emergency Leave Transfer Program (ELTP), and more.

The other memo, available here, is titled “Emergency Hiring Situation Resulting from Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian.” Director Ahuja writes, “To address Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian recovery efforts, agencies may have an immediate need to hire additional staff. Therefore, agencies are authorized to make excepted appointments under 5 CFR 213.3102(i)(3) to fill on a temporary basis for up to 1 year, for the appointment of individuals who will be directly involved with the recovery and relief efforts associated with Hurricane Fiona or Hurricane Ian. These appointments may be extended in increments up to 1 year.”

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the 2023 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program rates on Friday, September 30. The open season for health benefits, dental and vision insurance, and flexible spending accounts will be November 14 through December 12, 2022.

The average enrollee share increase for 2023 will be 8.7 percent. The overall average FEHB premium increase will be 7.2 percent. The new health premiums go into effect January 1, 2023.

The average premium increase for dental plans for 2023 is 0.21 percent, and the average premium for vision plans decreased by 0.41 percent from 2022.

The Office of Personnel Management and Federal Student Aid asked FMA to share about temporary changes made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which can help you or your employees get their student loans forgiven. But you need to act quickly if you are interested -- the deadline to act and take advantage of this limited PSLF waiver is October 31, 2022.

You can learn more about the waiver here. In short, the waiver will allow borrowers to gain additional PSLF credit, even if they had been told previously that they had the wrong loan type or the wrong repayment plan:

On September 29, the Senate approved a continuing resolution (CR) by a vote of 75-25 that would fund the federal government through December 16, 2022 and avert a government shutdown. The House passed it on September 30, by a vote of 230-201, and President Biden signed it into law shortly thereafter. Federal Managers Association (FMA) National President Craig Carter expressed both relief and disappointment in a press release.

“The Federal Managers Association is relieved the Senate approved this continuing resolution to prevent a harmful government shutdown. It will keep America’s hard working federal employees on the job, ensuring Americans will continue to receive the vital services they provide through December 16, 2022. While we supported this short-term Band-Aid, CRs hinder the ability of the government and the military to plan for the fiscal year ahead. They reduce our buying power and increase costs to taxpayers and the government. The result of a CR is the loss of billions of dollars. We are disappointed Congress has once again relied on a CR to keep the government running,” Carter said.

On September 29, the House of Representatives passed the Chance to Compete Act (H.R. 6967), bipartisan hiring reform legislation sponsored by Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA). FMA National President Craig Carter wrote all members of the House to urge a “yes” vote on the bill.

“FMA is proud to support this bipartisan, bicameral, commonsense legislation on hiring reform. This bill builds off the lessons learned as part of a successful hiring pilot, bringing managers and subject matter experts in early in the hiring process, and extends those successes across the federal workforce. It gives managers more tools and strengthens the competitive hiring process to help hire the best talent as quickly as possible for all agencies. It is a win-win bill that will improve hiring for the federal workforce and help the government compete with the private sector for the best and the brightest,” Carter wrote. “Hiring reform is a key priority for FMA, and we are grateful for Rep. Hice’ leadership on this bill.”

On Thursday, September 15, the House of Representatives passed the Preventing a Patronage System Act (H.R. 302) by a vote of 225-204.

FMA strongly supports the bill, which would prevent any future administration -- Democratic or Republican -- from reviving Schedule F. We supported President Biden's action to rescind the Executive Order that originally created Schedule F in October 2020, and swiftly endorsed the Preventing a Patronage System Act (H.R. 302), sponsored by House Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) when it was introduced early in the 117th Congress, as well as the inclusion of the bill language in two other legislative vehicles that have passed the House previously.

FMA has worked for years on the effort to repeal or mitigate the GPO and WEP, and Congress is the closest it has ever been to advancing a full repeal. The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), FMA-endorsed legislation sponsored by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) would eliminate both the GPO and WEP. H.R. 82 now has 303 cosponsors, or nearly 70 percent of the House of Representatives. Because of its strong support, the bill could be considered for a vote on the House floor. House rules allow a member of Congress to file a motion to place their legislation on the Consensus Calendar if it has at least 290 cosponsors for 25 legislative days.

In a press release, Rep. Davis wrote the “WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. For example, educators who do not earn Social Security in the public schools but who work part-time or during the summer in jobs covered by Social Security, have reduced benefits even though they pay into the system just like others. WEP also affects people who move from a job in which they earn Social Security to a job, such as teaching, in which they do not.

The FMA Regions 3 & Conference will be conducted November 11-12, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference promises some excellent training, information sharing, and fun networking. We look forward to seeing you there!

Click here for agenda, registration, hotel reservations, and more.

On Tuesday, November 15, at 7 PM Eastern, the FMA National Office will host a town hall on Zoom to begin planning FMA’s 2023 legislative agenda and issue briefs. We will discuss current issues we are working on and solicit your input on issues you would like us to address on behalf of federal managers in 2023.

Stay tuned for a link to the Zoom meeting arriving by email closer to the event.