Budget Draft Goes to Conference
The House and Senate are now going to conference on the first draft of the budget for the upcoming fiscal …More
Fedweek
Sign up Now! Free eNewslettersCOLA Count Up to 1.5 Percent
Through five months of the count to the January 2004 federal retiree cost-of-living adjustment, retirees have accumulated 1.5 percent, following …More
OPM’s Emergency Guidance
The Office of Personnel Management has urged agencies to keep their employees informed about contingency planning and other preparations for …More
Performance Fund Also Backed
Both committee chairmen also said, in messages to the congressional budget committees, that they support the administration’s proposal to create …More
Key Panels Back Pay Parity
The heads of the House Government Reform Committee and Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, have issued statements in favor of maintaining …More
Other Proposals Also Raised
In other requests, DoD is seeking: creation of an employee exchange program with the private industry for certain acquisition-related positions; …More
Overtime Cap Relief Sought
In its legislative request, DoD also asked for changes that would ensure that employees exempt from the Fair Labor Standards …More
DoD Seeks to Extend Buyout Authority
Meanwhile, the Defense Department in a separate legislative request has asked Congress to extend its authority to offer buyouts to …More
Certain Protections Would Remain
Officials have said they are looking to the Department of Homeland Security’s special personnel provisions as a model for the …More
DoD Reform Proposal Coming Soon
The Defense Department is expected to issue soon its proposal for a “national security personnel system” that effectively would break …More
Good News, Bad News Scenario
The deal to spare benefit programs could come at the cost of a reduction in federal jobs, however, since many …More
Budget Deal Could Ease Benefit Threat
A deal reached among House leaders as that chamber voted to approve a budgetary outline for the upcoming fiscal year …More
Extra Raise to Become Locality Pay
President Bush has issued an order on the extra 1 percent general schedule pay raise for 2003 contained in a …More
Stock Funds Slip Again
The three stock-based Thrift Savings Plan investment funds all suffered losses in February, with the common stock (C) fund down …More
Retiree ‘Premium Conversion’ Measures Reintroduced
Bills have been reintroduced in the House and Senate (HR-1231 and S-623) to allow federal retirees to participate in the …More
Student Loan Tax Relief Offered
Legislation (HR-1056) offered by House Government Reform Committee chairman Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., would make tax-free the student loan repayments …More
Emergency Guidance Issued
The Office of Personnel Management has issued guidance to employees and managers regarding their responsibilities for preparing for a terrorist …More
Word on 2003 Raise Still Pending
The Bush administration still has not issued guidance on how it will carry out the retroactive increase in the 2003 …More
CBO’s Options in Detail
While the options raised in the CBO report have not been adopted in the past, the report is significant because …More
CBO Report Provides Options
The prospects of budget cuts come as the Congressional Budget Office released its annual report outlining-although not specifically recommending-possible areas …More
Few Available Targets
The process of requiring authorizing committees to find savings, called “reconciliation,” allows those committees to identify where cuts are to …More
Prospect of Benefit Cuts Raised
Congress has started drafting a budget blueprint for the fiscal year that starts October 1 that could require spending cuts …More
Flexible Spending Account Program Launching
Executive branch employees will be allowed to set aside salary on a pre-tax basis to pay certain dependent care and …More
Job Opportunities Coming in SES
The Senior Executive Service-the highest-level career positions to which most federal employees can aspire-is expected to see significant turnover in …More
Contraceptives, Abortion Policy Continued
The recently enacted catchall spending bill for the current fiscal year continues prior policies in the Federal Employees Health Benefits …More
End to Required Withdrawals Proposed
Current requirements for making withdrawals from retirement savings programs such as the Thrift Savings Plan would be repealed under legislation …More
Familiar Problems Blamed
GAO laid most of the blame for FEHB premium increases of recent years on factors often cited for driving up …More
FEHB Premium Hikes in Line
The rise in Federal Employees Health Benefits program premiums in recent years has been in line with increases in other …More
Government Shutdown Protection Proposed
The White House has asked Congress to enact authority for the government to continue operating if regular appropriations bills haven’t …More
Greater Charge Card Scrutiny Sought
The Bush administration is seeking from Congress authority to require that agencies “evaluate the creditworthiness” of employees before issuing them …More
