Several Bills Advance

Among bills advancing recently in Congress are: S-841, passed by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, to give employees under the FERS retirement system who have breaks in service due to injuries or work-related illnesses an annuity increase to compensate for their lost opportunities to invest in the Thrift Savings Plan and to make contributions toward Social Security benefits; and HR-1085, approved by a House Science subcommittee, to give NASA greater personnel flexibilities, including making wider use of recruitment and retention payments, paying higher salaries for critical positions, offering buyout payments of up to half of the employee’s salary in limited circumstances, and making term appointments for up to six years, two years longer than the government-wide standard.