Tag: Lawmakers

Lawmakers to finalize NDAA by week’s end, bring the bill to the floor in early December

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House and Senate negotiators are racing to finalize the 2026 defense policy bill by the end of the week, with all House and Senate Armed Services Committee disputes resolved and only a few Senate jurisdictional details still holding the legislation’s advancement to the House floor in early December. “I think what they’re doing is, there’s been a couple of pencils-down time frames, but it sounds like it’ll be done by the end of the week. That’s what the focus is. Get it done by the end of the week, and…

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Lawmakers ramp up scrutiny of ICE oversight staff furloughs

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Democrats in Congress are pressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to restore oversight staff who were furloughed at the start of the government shutdown. In a Nov. 6 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said that staff at the Office of Detention Oversight are crucial to ensuring safety at ICE detention centers. Staff at ODO were furloughed at the outset of the shutdown. “Without ODO staff actively performing these duties, there is a heightened risk that detention facilities fail to meet required standards, compromising detainee safety, access to…

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Lawmakers seek to revise pay, benefits for some federal employees under shutdown

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As Congress still appears far from reaching a spending agreement to end the partial government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are expecting to miss their first full paychecks this Friday. Many excepted and furloughed federal employees received partial paychecks around Oct. 10, for the pay period that ended Oct. 4 — although they were only paid for workdays through Sept. 30. But while the shutdown drags on, some members of Congress are looking at other options to try to secure pay and benefits for certain employees impacted by…

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Lawmakers press OPM on ‘critical’ staffing, funding issues in Postal insurance program

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Less than two months away from this fall’s Open Season, Democrats in Congress are raising concerns that the Office of Personnel Management may not be fully prepared to administer the major health insurance program for millions of Postal Service employees and annuitants. Top Democrats from several congressional committees sent a letter Friday to OPM Director Scott Kupor to push for answers about key issues recently identified in the new Postal Service Health Benefits program. The letter comes a few months after the agency’s inspector general office found “critical” staffing vacancies…

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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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House lawmakers eye Coast Guard secretary, personnel increases

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House lawmakers have unveiled a bipartisan Coast Guard authorization bill that seeks to address the service’s personnel shortages and aging equipment, while also creating stronger protections for service members from sexual assault and harassment. The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, introduced this week by leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, would authorize funding for the service through 2029. The bill seeks to bolster many aspects of a reform plan called “Force Design 2028,” that was formally unveiled by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in May.  The bill…

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