Category: Congress

Lawmakers push to eliminate TRICARE premiums for dependents under 26

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A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers wants to bring TRICARE in line with most civilian health insurance plans by allowing military dependents to remain on their parents’ coverage until age 26 without paying additional premiums. The legislation, dubbed the “Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act,” aims to align TRICARE eligibility with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which requires most civilian insurance plans to cover dependents until they turn 26 at no extra cost. The bill has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Under current TRICARE rules,…

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Fewer letters, more addresses: Can the Postal Service keep up?

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Interview transcript: Terry Gerton The U.S. Postal Service is facing a paradox. Mail volume is projected to decline by as much as 41 percent by 2035, yet the number of delivery addresses grows by more than a million each year. A new report from the USPS Office of Inspector General outlines several scenarios for the future of mail, and none of them are easy. Here to explore the operational and financial challenges ahead, the impact of electronic diversion And what innovations might help the Postal Service remain affordable, reliable, and…

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Are we entering a new era in federal budgeting?

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Interview transcript: Terry Gerton Well, it was a busy week in Congress last week. Let’s start with the rescission bill, the one that got passed, $ 9 billion minus the $ 400 million that went to [the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]. What did you hear as that was going through the process? Loren Duggan That was a bill that was very partisan, and it was backed by Republicans. There were a couple of defections in the Senate, notably Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), but that bill…

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House defense bill boosts military pay, increases family separation allowance

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The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the 2026 defense policy bill, passed Tuesday night after a full day of debate, includes a 3.8% pay bump for service members, a 60% increase in the family separation allowance and excludes the basic allowance for housing from income calculations.  The committee passed its version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act less than a week after the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced its own version of the legislation. The House defense bill, just like the Senate’s version, focuses heavily on reforming the…

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More than 500 former PMFs urge revival of federal leadership program

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Hundreds of former Presidential Management Fellows are urging Congress to reinstate the now-defunct PMF program, previously one of the government’s key channels for recruiting and developing the next generation of federal leaders. In response to President Donald Trump’s elimination of the PMF program earlier this year, over 500 program alumni signed a letter sent to Congress on Friday, calling for the passage of the TALENTS Act. The bill, introduced by Sens. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in May, would both restore and codify the PMF program, in effect…

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Trump’s NOAA nominee: Ongoing hiring freeze lift ‘challenging’ for its mission

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President Donald Trump’s pick to run the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told lawmakers that if confirmed, adequate staffing for the agency will be paramount in preparation for major budget cuts next year. Neil Jacobs, Trump’s nominee to serve as NOAA administrator, told members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that a governmentwide hiring freeze, recently extended to Oct. 15, has made it “challenging” for the agency to meet certain parts of its mission. Jacobs on Wednesday told lawmakers that staffing up NOAA will be a “top priority,”…

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