Acceptance in the conference would amount to a rejection of the administration’s argument that union representation at DoD—which has been formally recognized for decades—should be excluded on national security and related grounds. Image: Casimiro PT/Shutterstock.com
The Senate has passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (S-2296), leaving to an upcoming conference with the House the fate of language to block President Trump’s executive order to repudiate existing union contracts and revoke future representation rights at the department.
The House earlier passed its version of the bill (HR-3338) containing language to block that order’s application at Defense (also called War, with legislation pending to formalize the name change). Several Republicans had joined with Democrats in adding that language at the committee level, and while an amendment was prepared ahead of floor voting to remove it, that amendment was not called to a vote in the face of its expected rejection.
That turned attention to the Senate, which did not add similar language of its own at either the committee or floor voting stages. Differences over that and numerous other matters will have to be resolved in a conference between the two chambers before the bill could be brought to a final vote.
Acceptance in the conference would amount to a rejection of the administration’s argument that union representation at DoD—which has been formally recognized for decades—should be excluded on national security and related grounds. The effort could then be extended to other affected agencies, many of which have far less of a role in national security.
While the White House would oppose inclusion of the ban in the defense measure, that bill is considered one of the few annual “must-pass” measures and traditionally clears Congress with strong bipartisan support—and which Presidents often have signed despite their opposition to certain provisions.
Apart from the union-related provision, the two versions of the bill contain mostly routine provisions, such as extensions of long-running special pay authorities for federal employees working in overseas areas of military operations.
Separately, lawsuits are pending against the original executive order that included DoD among more than a dozen agencies and a later order covering another half-dozen. Federal courts have rejected several cases brought by the Justice Department for a judgment that Trump acted within his authority; the record in cases brought by federal unions has been mixed, with the most recent ruling in their favor, in a case involving certain bargaining units in DoD, Energy, the Coast Guard and EPA.
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