The defense bill has long been a favorite of legislators seeking to attach policy changes that might not otherwise be approved. Image: The Bold Bureau/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffWith continued funding in place for federal agencies until early in 2024, one of the last major items on Congress’s plate this year is the annual defense authorization bill, which often serves as the vehicle for federal workplace policy changes, both at DoD and government-wide.
That bill is one of the few “must-pass” annual measures and has been enacted, usually with strong bipartisan support, each year for decades. That has always made it attractive to legislators to attach policy changes that might not be approved otherwise.
With Congress hoping to wrap up for the year by December 15 — such deadlines often are extended, although rarely past the Christmas Day holiday — there is little working time left for passing either stand-alone bills or appropriations bills that can carry workforce policy changes. During that time much of the focus will be on bills related to immigration and foreign policy issues.
The House and Senate passed separate versions of the DoD authorization over the summer but there still is no single version ready for final voting. One reason is that the House added a number of social policy provisions favored by the rightmost segment of the Republican majority there, resulting in an unusually partisan vote for approval.
Both versions include a number of routine provisions regarding use of special hiring authorities for in-demand positions and allowing special pay for civilian employees working in areas of military operations and in certain other circumstances.
Additional provisions affecting federal employees in the House version include cutting more than $1 billion from the requested funding for DoD civilian employee salaries, potentially triggering steps such as hiring restrictions and possibly RIFs; requiring an assessment of whether DoD employees who normally work offsite are receiving locality pay higher than what applies where they work; requiring OPM to perform a comprehensive review of FEHB rolls to determine whether any ineligible persons are covered as enrollees or family members.
New provisions sometimes are added to the bill during the negotiations that precede bringing it to a final vote to the House and Senate.
Senate Eyes Vote to Pay Federal Employees Working Unpaid
Series of Bills Offered to Address Shutdown’s Impact on Employees
Public Starting to Feel Impact of Shutdown, Survey Shows
OPM Details Coverage Changes, Plan Dropouts for FEHB/PSHB in 2026
Does My FEHB/PSHB Plan Stack Up? Here’s How to Tell
2025 TSP Rollercoaster and the G Fund Merry-go-Round
See also,
TSP Takes Step toward Upcoming In-Plan Roth Conversions
5 Steps to Protect Your Federal Job During the Shutdown
Over 30K TSP Accounts Have Crossed the Million Mark in 2025
