Budget Relieves Some Pressure, but Not All

President Obama has signed into law a budget measure carrying the government through September, a measure that guarantees no government shutdown through then and that has created a general expectation of no serious threat of one in the fall, either. There further is a general expectation that agencies will not have to resort to unpaid furloughs this year, since the bill eases sequestration, but that will be up to individual agencies to sort out. In any case, many of the effects of tight budgets on federal employees likely will remain, especially so at agencies including TSA and IRS that were targeted in particular—the bill caps employment at TSA and its funding restrictions will act as an effective cap at IRS. Many agencies may have to continue operating under general hiring freezes that have been in place since early last year or even before, with resulting restrictions on advancement opportunities for current employees. In addition, it has become standard operating procedure now to strictly limit spending in areas that aid employees’ career development such as training and professional conferences.