Both chambers will be in recess next week with legislators in their states and districts for the Thanksgiving holiday. When Congress returns the week of November 26th, there will be two weeks remaining before the current Continuing Resolution (CR)--for agencies that did not receive full-year Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funding--expires midnight on December 7th between Friday and Saturday…..
Read MoreUpdate on Legislation Introduced to Take Away Employee Rights
Recently, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee met to consider several anti-employee and anti-union bills.
The proposed bills would eliminate collective bargaining on Information Technology decisions, upend the role of the Merit Systems Protection Board….
Read MoreHouse Committee Passes EPA Budget Bill
Today the U.S. House of Representatives Interior & Environment Committee passed a funding bill for EPA, the Department of the Interior, and related agencies. The bill provides EPA a bit more than $7.5 billion, a 6.6% cut. Coupled with the 1% cut for fiscal year 2017, EPA would be down 7.6% if the bill passes and is signed into law.
There some question about whether the EPA funding bill will pass Congress. Legislators are still discussing an "omnibus" spending bill, that would lump all the non-defense agencies together. No telling what would come out of that process.
We'll keep you posted!
Good? Budget News...
Politico is reporting that the U.S. House of Representatives' Interior & Environment Appropriations Subcommittee "finalized a fiscal 2018 Interior and Environment spending package" with only "slight reduction in funds from current levels...." Politico reports that the bill would give agencies covered by the spending bill, including EPA, "$31.5 billion for fiscal year 2018 compared to $32.37 billion in current funding."
While cuts to EPA's programs are likely to negatively impact environmental protection....
Read MoreShutdown Averted: Congress Passes Spending Bill
From NTEU National.....
“The Senate today followed the House in approving a [spending package] to fund the federal government though the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year. The president is expected to sign the measure before funding expires Friday night. Passage of this bipartisan spending bill eliminates the threat of another government shutdown for the next five months.
While NTEU is pleased that the $18 billion in cuts originally proposed were not part of the final agreement, many federal agencies remain underfunded and understaffed after several years of cuts and inadequate funding.
As the debate shifts to the fiscal 2018 congressional budget, NTEU is pressing for adequate and stable funding for the federal government so that agencies have the resources they need and federal employees are not left anxious with another shutdown countdown.”
In the passed spending bill, the Environmental Protection Agency received an $81.4 million decrease from fiscal year 2016 (FY16). EPA was operating on a continuing resolution, allowing it to spend at FY16 levels. The $81.4 million budget cut amounts to approximately a 1% spending reduction.
Legislative Information & Action Center
Chapter 280 just added a direct link to NTEU's legislative information and action page on its website. Now you can learn about NTEU's legislative priorities, sign up to receive legislative updates, discover your members of congress using your zip code, and take action on legislation that concerns you. Simply visit action.nteu.org for all this and more.
Current topics on which you can take action include.....
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