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What do congressional minions actually do when they try to reconcile bills, anyhow?

September 6, 2023 Actually, they, bills, minions, reconcile, anyhow, congressional0 comment

The detailed work in Congress is done not by members, but rather by the 30,000-odd staff members. Right now, a group of overworked, and probably underpaid, minions are what they call “conferencing” over one of the most important yearly laws: the National Defense Authorization Act. Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with on of those former “minions.” Among other things, she was Senior Defense Adviser to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Michele Pearce is currently an attorney with Covington and Burling. Interview Transcript: Tom Temin And we should say that you…

Contractors are also combing through the House and Senate defense authorization bills

August 1, 2023 House, Defense, bills, through, Contractors, also, Authorization, combing, Senate0 comment

The defense authorization bills, while contentious, would do a lot for contractors; from inflation relief to easing greenhouse gas emissions reporting. For a summary, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Haynes Boone procurement attorney Dan Ramish. Interview Transcript: Tom Temin The defense authorization bills, while contentious, would do a lot for contractors from inflation relief to easing greenhouse gas emissions reporting. We get a summary from Haynes Boone procurement attorney Dan Ramish. And I guess, Dan, we should begin by noting, even though the House and the Senate have…

Revived bills would alter feds’ payment obligations during shutdowns, federal first responders’ pensions

March 6, 2023 Revived, bills, Shutdown's, Feds, pensions, obligations, Alter, first, payment, would, responders’, federal, during0 comment

Lawmakers revived a host of bills this week that would impact the federal workforce, through changes to payments, retirement benefits and more. The Federal Employee Civil Relief Act, for one, would let federal employees and contractors postpone certain types of payments during government shutdowns, or if the government defaults on its debt. Specifically, feds would get a 30-day cushion, after a government shutdown ends, before they would have to make payments on loans and other types of financial obligations. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), who reintroduced the…

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

January 25, 2023 benefits, bills, Feds, Process, hiring, Reintroduced, security, Social0 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…

Bills, amendments linger in Congress with lasting implications for feds

November 26, 2022 Congress, lasting, bills, Feds, Amendments, Implications, Linger0 comment

Lawmakers have until Dec. 16, when the current continuing resolution expires, to pass the rest of the appropriations bills and fund the government next year, but it’s not the only item on the congressional to-do list with big implications for the federal workforce. Many of those additional items are included as amendments under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2023. There are more than 1,000 amendments to the NDAA, and at least a handful of them have the potential to change the federal hiring process, federal benefits, retirement and…

Jill Biden says bills aren’t footballs to ‘pass or pivot’

February 7, 2022 Biden, says, pass, bills, Pivot, aren't, Jill, footballs0 comment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden went public Monday with her frustration over a political process that she says treats legislation like a football to “pass or pivot” while real people, such as her community college students, continue waiting for assistance that would help them build better futures. “Governing isn’t a … The Washington Times stories: White House