Focus Will Shift to Senate

By: fedweek

The Senate has not taken up either the DoD authorization or appropriations bills and likely will turn to one or both when returning in September from the August congressional recess. Its authorization bill (S-1547) would repeal the department’s authority under NSPS to curtail union rights and would exclude wage grade employees from NSPS. All DoD employees under NSPS so far are in white collar occupations not subject to union representation. The language does not address other aspects of NSPS, such as its pay banding and pay for performance elements and planned changes in appeals rights and procedures, but DoD could have a difficult time extending those elements to union-eligible employees if it had to negotiate over the impact of such changes. The White House opposes the Senate language but did not threaten to veto the bill over it, as it did with broader language in the House-passed version. The Senate hasn’t yet drafted its appropriations bill.