Amid safety concerns, AFGE urges Congress to increase Bureau of Prisons funding

Union officials are urging Congress to provide more funding to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. BOP has spent years struggling with staff attrition, and safety and security issues. The American Federation of Government Employees said the fiscal 2024 budget for BOP, as part of the recent government funding deal, would only worsen the agency’s current 40% staffing shortage. And AFGE warned that a 38% cut to funding for facility maintenance would make federal prisons more dangerous environments for both employees and inmates. (BOP needs more funding, not Less, to address…

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For 2023, federal retirees will see largest COLA increase in over 40 years

Federal retirees and Social Security recipients are about to get the largest increase in their cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in over four decades. The COLA will increase 8.7% for 2023, the Social Security Administration announced on Oct. 13. But not all federal retirees will see that amount added to their checks. Those in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) will receive a 7.7% COLA starting in January. The large COLA announcement for 2023 is no surprise, given high rates of inflation and climbing consumer prices this year, said Ken Thomas, national…

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White House says blocking Russian oil would increase prices, rules out no-fly zone in Ukraine

The White House said Thursday that President Biden is still not considering a no-fly zone over Ukraine and warned that blocking Russian oil imports would result in higher prices for consumers. “A no-fly zone requires implementation. It would require essentially the U.S. military shooting down Russian planes and causing — … The Washington Times stories: White House

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Biden Bureaucrats Quietly Increase Federal Government’s Control Over Health Care

Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, conservatives in state capitals and in Congress supported a balanced approach of increasing health insurance coverage while granting states flexibility to design sustainable Medicaid programs for low-income residents that include personal responsibility.  States enjoyed broad flexibility to recreate Medicaid programs that reflected what was practicable and achievable.  The Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, went in the opposite direction and Congress passed it on a strictly partisan basis. Obamacare took away states’ authority to regulate insurance markets. Health care should not…

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