Fedweek

The House is set to take up a budget outline for the upcoming fiscal year but it is now virtually certain that the measure will go no farther and the budgetary focus will switch to appropriations bills. The House Budget Committee last week passed an outline that backs changes such as increasing required retirement contributions by all federal employees, restricting the government contribution toward FEHB premiums, shrinking the workforce through a partial hiring freeze, and more. However, passage by the full House is uncertain due to opposition from some fiscal conservatives who want an even tighter budget, and the Senate seemingly has no plans to draft a counterpart measure. Instead, the appropriations committees plan to begin writing annual spending bills, including the general government measure that is the key bill for federal workplace and benefits issues. That bill funds the central management agencies such as OPM and GSA and often sets personnel and workplace policies through provisions affecting them. Also, if Congress sets a federal raise for the following year, it typically is done through that bill–although in recent years raises have been allowed to happen by default through silence. Whether Congress will be able to enact many, if any, of the 12 regular bills is an open issue. Already there is a general expectation that Congress will enact short-term bill to continue agency funding ahead of the October 1 start of the new fiscal year, with final decisions to be made after the elections.