NATO Summit – July 9-11

The United States will host the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., from July 9-11. On July 9, the Mellon Auditorium will host a large event. During the week, expect extensive impacts on commuting, including building and road closures, transit delays and heightened security. 

To help plan accordingly, please visit MPD’s 2024 NATO Summit - National Special Security Event Information page for an updated list of road closures, parking restrictions and additional information.

Federal Triangle Metro is going to be closed for the day on Tuesday the 9th, so please plan accordingly if commuting into the office or request situational telework. FedSmith reports that OPM is encouraging telework throughout the week.

 https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Metro-prepares-for-impacts-of-2024-NATO-Summit.cfm

House Committee Defers to Proposed 2 Percent Pay Raise

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee passed its Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which has jurisdiction over various government-wide employee provisions such as the annual pay increase. Once again, the committee remained silent on federal employee pay, letting the president’s proposal for a 2 percent pay raise in 2025 stand, for now.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has not released its spending bills for fiscal 2025.

Congress can still act to increase the pay increase for 2025 and NTEU continues the fight to pass the FAIR Act, which would provide an average 7.4 percent pay raise next year. Such an investment in the federal workforce would help close the significant pay gap between federal employee and private sector pay and help the federal government compete with the private sector for talented employees.

For 2024, President Biden’s proposed average 5.2 percent pay raise was implemented, marking the largest increase for federal employees since the Carter administration.  

Learn more about our fight for a fair pay raise.

Survey Shows Strong Support for Merit-Based Civil Service

A whopping 95 percent of Americans believe federal employees should be hired and promoted based on their individual merit and skill rather than their political beliefs, according to a new survey released by the Partnership for Public Service.

The overwhelming response is a strong rebuttal to those who want to remove career federal employees and make room for hiring only a president’s political allies.

While the survey also shows a concerning drop in overall public trust of the federal government, the desire for the civil service to remain independent is powerful and bipartisan. Regardless of political affiliation, 91 percent of Americans agree that “having competent civil servants is important for a strong American democracy” and 87 percent say a nonpartisan civil service is important to democracy.

The survey got into even more detail, with 90 percent agreeing that civil servants should serve the people more than any individual president, and 86 percent agreeing that they should continue to serve the U.S. Constitution more than any individual president. However, the results show that the lies and damaging rhetoric about federal employees are having some effect with some doubting that today’s federal workforce is truly nonpartisan and can be trusted to serve leaders of both political parties. That can be countered with facts.

“Indeed, our survey shows that a majority of Americans report more favorable views of civil servants when told that they are responsible for some of our country’s greatest achievements, serve as experts in their field who keep us safe, and work in roles that directly provide essential services to the public rather than as elected officials or political appointees,” the report states.

Among the report’s recommendations is that policymakers find more ways to strengthen the guardrails to protect the civil service and “prevent partisan abuse of civil service rules and a return to the failures and corruption of the spoils system of the 1800s.” Learn more about NTEU’s work to protect federal employees.

NTEU Recognizes Pride Month

NTEU joins the nation in commemorating Pride Month and celebrating the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ+ federal employees.

New Student Debt Relief Plan Announced

This week, President Biden announced a new plan for student loan debt.

More than 25 million borrowers now owe more than what they originally borrowed, due to the interest accrued on their federal student loans. The administration outlined canceling up to $20,000 of the amount a borrower’s balance growth due to unpaid interest on their loans after entering repayment, regardless of income. No application will be needed for NTEU members or other borrowers to receive relief if this plan is finalized as proposed. While the administration has worked to make it easier to apply for relief, the proposed plans would automatically cancel debt for borrowers otherwise eligible for relief through Public Service Loan Forgiveness, the SAVE plan, closed school loan discharges, or other forgiveness opportunities but who have not successfully applied for that assistance.

Too many eligible for debt relief—including immediate cancellation—have historically not been able to overcome paperwork requirements, bad advice, or other obstacles.

NTEU will continue our work to keep our members informed of loan forgiveness or relief programs they are eligible for, including agency-based programs won through our collective bargaining.

Final Six Funding Bills Passed

Six months into the fiscal year, Congress has finally passed the final funding package for FY 2024, providing funding for many NTEU agencies including Treasury, IRS, CBP, FLETC, DoD, HHS, FEC, FCC, SEC, and SSA. 

 

While they did not officially pass the bill before the deadline, OMB did not initiate shutdown procedures and employees should not be impacted. 

 

Now that FY 2024 funding is complete, Congress will begin working on FY 2025 funding, and you can rest assured that NTEU will continue to fight for a fair pay raise next year and additional funding and staffing for NTEU-represented agencies, so you have the resources you need to do your jobs.   

                                                 

Senate Passes Partial Funding Package to Avoid a Partial Government Shutdown

Six months into Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, Congress has finally passed legislation to provide funding until the end of September for agencies and programs under the following appropriations bills: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

Attention now turns to the remaining six bills which are still being negotiated by congressional leaders. Funding for agencies and programs under those bills are set to expire on March 22.

Although a partial government shutdown was averted this past week, we must all remain engaged to ensure Congress acts in time and provides the remaining agencies with the funding necessary to meet their missions. We will keep you updated on any developments.

Update on Several Government Funding Bills  

Last week, congressional leaders released the text for a legislative package that includes six of the 12 annual appropriations bills: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. The funding levels in the bill are consistent with the debt limit deal reached last year and avoids the deep funding cuts proposed by the House Republicans.

The funding agreement contains a significant win for NTEU’s wildland firefighters. Passage of this legislation would mean a continuation of the increased pay authority provided under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will give Congress more time to permanently address wildland firefighter pay without sending current firefighters over the “pay cliff.”  

In addition to funding wildland firefighter pay, the legislation would fund the Department of Interior at $14.8 billion, with the National Park Service receiving $3.3 billion and the Bureau of Land Management seeing $1.4 billion. These figures would protect existing staffing levels to ensure Interior agencies have the personnel they need to fulfill their agency's missions.

The funding measure continues to invest in NTEU-represented agencies by providing over $50 billion in total funding for the Department of Energy, $9.1 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, and $137 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

NTEU is pleased that this bill continues the bipartisan practice of allowing PTO to keep all of its fee collections to fund the agency. We are also pleased for USDA that it provides adequate resources and does not include proposals to limit efforts for equal employment opportunities or relocate personnel. 

NTEU is concerned with the funding levels for FDA and CFTC which are inadequate for the important missions of these agencies. The bill splits the difference between President Biden’s budget, which asked for needed increases in funding for FDA and CFTC, and the House Republican demand that these agencies have their funding cut even if that caused RIFs and furloughs. The bill would freeze but not cut CFTC funding while providing FDA with only a $20 million increase.

Yesterday, the House passed the legislative package that includes funding for the remainder of FY 2024 for six of the 12 annual appropriations bills including: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Overall, the funding levels in the bill are consistent with those agreed upon in the debt limit deal last year.

Government funding is set to expire Friday night, March 8, for several NTEU agencies unless Congress passes this funding package.  The Senate is expected to vote on the bill before midnight Friday night, but procedural issues could delay Senate action. Congressional leaders are still negotiating funding in the remaining six funding bills, which are set to expire on
March 22.

While it appears that Congress is on track to avoid a partial government shutdown this week, we must all remain engaged to ensure Congress acts in time and provides agencies with the funding necessary to meet their missions.  We will keep you updated on any developments.   

Women’s History Month 2024

NTEU joins the nation in commemorating Women’s History Month. This year we are celebrating the women who fought through adversity for the right to vote

Congress Approves Short-term Funding; No Shutdown This Weekend

The House and Senate voted Thursday to give Congress a few more days to work on full-year funding for the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year, which avoids a partial government shutdown that could have started Friday night.

Although the new continuing resolution has tight deadlines of March 8 and March 22, congressional negotiators said they have made significant progress on the individual FY 2024 appropriation bills.

After a meeting with President Biden on Tuesday, congressional leaders reached a deal on the Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment, and Commerce-Justice-Science appropriation bills, which they plan to pass before the March 8 deadline. Congress would then have until March 22 to reach a deal on the remaining six bills and finally complete fiscal year 2024 funding. Importantly, passing all 12 bills would avoid an automatic 1 percent across-the-board cut.

As lawmakers scramble to finish the FY 2024 appropriation bills, NTEU will continue to fight for agency funding levels that give employees the resources they need.

Consumers’ CHECKBOOK Magazine

Consumers’ Checkbook is a nonprofit that rates local service providers for quality and price in seven metropolitan markets. Consumers’ Checkbook is published in the greater metropolitan areas of Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC. NTEU members can purchase a one-year digital subscription for the low price of only $18, a 35% savings off the regular price.

The subscription includes:

  • Immediate online access to all Checkbook ratings and advice, with ratings updated regularly on auto repair shops, plumbers, veterinarians, dentists, carpet cleaners, roofers, doctors, and dozens of other types of services.

  • Immediate online access to Checkbook’s customer survey, where you can share your experiences with local service providers.

  • Comprehensive semiannual print magazine issues, plus newsletter updates in between each issue. (Print subscriptions only.)

The way for NTEU members to take advantage of this benefit is to log in to the NTEU website and visit the Benefits area. Consumers’ CHECKBOOK is listed under the “Shopping and Other Discounts” section. The link to the benefit is embedded in the language “Get this discount.” We hope members where Consumers’ CHECKBOOK magazine is published will take advantage of this valuable benefit to help them become better consumers.

Update on Government Funding

On Friday, January 19, 2024, funding for USDA, FDA, DOE, and NRC is set to expire while funding for the remaining NTEU-represented agencies expires two weeks later on February 2, 2024. Despite the announcement of a top-line funding agreement for FY 2024 that is consistent with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) passed last year that avoids the deep funding cuts proposed by the House, there is still no agreement on funding levels for the 12 appropriations bills and the agencies and programs funded by them. 

While the leaders announced a top-line deal, some hardline House Republicans have blasted the deal and urged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to abandon it. Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) said that he wants to shut down the government unless President Biden closes the border, a position that several other House Republicans are espousing. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) said that he wants a year-long CR, which, under the FRA, would lead to big cuts in domestic programs while freezing the Pentagon budget. But republican defense hawks have said that they would oppose a year-long CR since it would freeze defense spending. Following closed-door meetings, several members of Congress reported that the Speaker was open to walking away from the deal, but the Speaker has since said that he made no commitment to do so. 

Although Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced late last year that he will not pass another short-term spending bill, it is now expected that a short-term Continuing Resolution is necessary to finalize the funding allocations.   

On Tuesday night, the Senate voted on cloture for the legislative vehicle for a CR that would continue the “laddered” CR approach and extend funding until March 1 and March 8. Today, the Senate passed a CR that continues the “laddered” CR approach and extends those funding deadlines until March 1 and March 8. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill later today.

This latest CR will allow negotiations to continue over funding levels for the agencies and programs funded by the 12 appropriations bills now that a top-line funding agreement for FY 2024 has been reached. That agreement is consistent with the Fiscal Responsibility Act passed last year and avoids the deep funding cuts proposed by the House. However, negotiations may remain difficult as some hardline House Republicans have blasted the top-line funding deal and have pushed for greater funding cuts and controversial policy riders.

Today, NTEU Chapter 280 joins the nation in honoring the life, legacy, and service of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the pursuit justice and equality.