Congress | Voter.org

Democrats reintroduce bill to give feds 8.7% average pay raise next year

January 29, 2023 give, Feds, 'average', 8.7%, Democrats, year, raise, Next, Bill, Reintroduce0 comment

A bicameral pair of Democrats proposed a bill to give federal employees a pay raise in 2024, in what has become an annual tradition in recent years. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) reintroduced the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act in the House and Senate, respectively, to give most civilian employees an 8.7% average pay raise next year. Specifically, the bill includes a 4.7% across-the-board base pay raise, plus a 4% average locality pay increase. The legislation also includes a 4.7% raise for prevailing rate…

Reintroduced bills aim to fix hiring process, Social Security benefits for feds

January 25, 2023 Process, hiring, Reintroduced, security, Social, benefits, bills, Feds0 comment

Lawmakers have teed up two familiar bills that differ in their priorities, but that both have implications for federal employees, as well as retirees from the public sector. The first bill, the Chance to Compete Act, aims to revamp longstanding challenges in the federal hiring process. The House passed the bill Tuesday evening in a vote of 422 to 2. The bipartisan legislation would expand the use of shared assessments among different agencies, in effect trying to expand cross-agency hiring. Also under the legislation, subject matter experts (SMEs) would be…

Boiling the frog: How civil servants are being politicized before our eyes

January 21, 2023 Civil, Boiling, frog, servants, politicized, Before, being, Eyes0 comment

Despite herculean efforts by its Democratic sponsors, a statutory ban on the Trump administration’s controversial Schedule F failed in the last session of Congress, and the chances of it passing in the next two years are now less than zero. As many readers know, Schedule F would have made political loyalty to a particular elected official (in this instance, former President Donald Trump) the litmus test for the retention of thousands of career civil servants in the federal government’s Executive Branch. That’s scary, especially to me, and I resigned from…

You heard right, the next potential government shutdown is coming into view

January 17, 2023 right, government, View, heard, shutdown, coming, Potential, Next, into0 comment

With Republicans in charge of the house and Democrats the Senate, you can bet on sharp disagreements over the budget. In fact, it’s not too early to worry about an impasse leading to a government shutdown. To get a look into this possibility, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Mitchell Miller, WTOP’s Capitol Hill Correspondent. Interview transcript: Mitchell Miller It really is, Tom. It’s incredible that we’re here in January and already talking about it. And it’s very serious discussions taking place right now. And that is all of…

Grassley calls for 10 agencies to account for payment arrangements of temporarily employed non-feds

January 13, 2023 Agencies, Temporarily, payment, Grassley, arrangements, employed, nonfeds, calls, account0 comment

The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee is calling for a sweeping review of agencies using non-federal employees to serve in temporary roles while being paid by outside entities. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is asking 10 agencies to provide a full accounting of these types of hires made under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act. Grassley is raising these concerns following news reports that the Federation of American Scientists, a non-profit with ties to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, is paying the salaries of dozens of positions within the Biden administration.…

Speaking of the House: What’s in store for the 118th Congress?

January 9, 2023 Congress, House, speaking, What's, Store, 118th0 comment

Besides the tragedy-comedy drama over selection of a House Speaker, there is a rather potent agenda for the 118th Congress. Authorizations. Appropriations are so far off. Debt ceiling. And the gambits Republicans in the house are hoping to launch. To cover it all in 10 minutes, spoke with Federal Drive with Tom Temin Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. Interview transcript: Loren Duggan It has been these normally routine steps that often are dispensed with pretty quickly have obviously taken much longer this year to name a speaker and…