New bill would abolish MSPB, create ‘at-will’ federal employees

Republican lawmakers are once again making a push that would allow the government to fire bureaucrats more easily. For the third time since 2016, members of the House introduced a bill to make all federal employees “at-will” workers. That means agencies would be able to more quickly remove employees for underperforming or behaving in a manner that goes against federal rules. “My bill would make all federal bureaucrats at-will employees — just like private sector workers — and claw back the inordinate protections some federal employees grossly abuse while helping…

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What the House appropriations bill means for a federal pay raise

House appropriators have aligned with President Joe Biden’s proposed 4.6% federal pay raise. The fiscal 2023 financial services and general government bill, which the House Appropriations Committee advanced on June 24 in a vote of 31 to 22, makes no mention of the pay raise proposal for federal employees. Similar to their silence last year, House appropriators’ lack of comment on the federal pay raise essentially endorses the White House’s 4.6% proposal from March’s budget request. In 2022, federal employees received a pay raise of 2.7% on average. Military service…

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VA looks to overhaul pay, ‘antiquated’ hiring processes in major veteran care bill

The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to transform its workforce and health care facilities in anticipation of legislation that would deliver a historic expansion of health care to veterans. The Senate is expected to reach a final vote this week on the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (Honoring Our PACT) Act. The legislation, at its core, would expand disability compensation and health care benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service. VA Secretary Denis McDonough told the Senate VA…

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New Senate bill instructs agencies to find creative ways to recycle electric car batteries

<p><em>To listen to the Federal Newscast on your phone or mobile device, subscribe in <a href=”https://www.podcastone.com/federal-newstalk?showAllEpisodes=true”>PodcastOne</a> or <a href=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/federal-newscast/id1053077930?mt=2″>Apple Podcasts</a>. The best listening experience on desktop can be found using Chrome, Firefox or Safari.</em></p> <ul> <li>The Postal Service is in recovery, but more tough decisions lie ahead. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said USPS is on track to reverse its long-term financial challenges under its 10-year reform plan. The Postal Service Reform Act President Joe Biden recently signed into law is just the latest element of the plan to fall into place. USPS is…

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New bill would mandate legacy IT inventories, modernization plans

Agencies finally would be on the hook to address the ever growing need to modernize legacy technology systems. After years of reports from the Government Accountability Office that found agencies didn’t have a good idea of how many or how old their legacy systems were, Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) are trying to change that. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.,  introduced a new bill to require agencies to improve their plans to modernize legacy IT. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP) Hassan, the chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Governmental…

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