House Committee Advances Bill to Expand Federal Employee Paid Leave

In July, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform narrowly advanced a bill that would expand paid leave options for the federal workforce. The Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act, H.R. 564, introduced by Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, would broaden the list of conditions for which federal employees are eligible for paid leave, including paid family and medical leave.

As with all Americans, under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) federal employees are entitled to 12 weeks of leave for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child; the care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition; the inability to work because of a serious health issue; or conditions caused by an immediate family member’s active-duty service in the military.

However, out of those situations listed, Feds are only eligible for paid leave in connection with the birth, adoption or foster care of a child, commonly referred to as paid parental leave. The other conditions only qualify for unpaid leave. H.R. 564 would expand eligibility for paid leave for all the conditions covered by the FMLA and extend parental leave coverage to U.S. Postal Service employees, who were not included in previously passed paid parental leave legislation.

During the committee debate, lawmakers had heated discussions about the necessity of a paid leave program. Maloney depicted the importance of paid leave in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, arguing, “Federal employees should not have to deplete their sick or annual leave because of Congress’ unwillingness to provide paid leave to deal with longer-term hardships,” adding, “after more than a year of a global pandemic, why would we accept policies that actually create an incentive

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cannot be completely invested without exceeding the debt limit. Suspending investment creates billions of dollars in headroom that the federal government can use to give Congress additional time to increase the debt limit.

While suspension of the investments is less than ideal, the funds have always been made whole. In her letter to Congress, Yellen wrote, “By law, the G Fund, [the CSRDF and the PSRHBF] will be made whole once the debt limit is increased or suspended. Federal retirees and employees will be unaffected by this action.”

The TSP confirmed this in a recent statement, writing, “G Fund investors remain fully protected, and G Fund earnings are fully guaranteed by the federal government. This statutory guarantee has effectively protected G Fund investors many times over the past 30 years. G Fund account balances will continue to accrue earnings and will be updated each business day, and loans and withdrawals will be unaffected.”

From the federal worker and retiree perspective, nothing will look out of place in their G Fund investments because of the suspension, and federal annuities and health benefits will continue to be paid. NARFE will continue to monitor the use of the extraordinary measures and when the funds eventually are made whole.

NARFE NewsLine – A weekly newsletter that goes out to NARFE members on Tuesdays and includes weekly recaps of legislative news, compiled by NARFE’s advocacy and communications teams. LEGISLATIVE ACTION CENTER – A one-stop site to send a letter to Congress, and more, at www.narfe.org.

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H.R. 3076/S. 1720: The Postal Service Reform Act / Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY / Sen. Gary Peters, D-MI Cosponsors: H.R. 3076: 37 (D) 24 (R) S. 1720: 11 (D) 13 (R) 1(I)

Creates a new Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) program starting in January 2023. All postal employees and retirees would be moved to the new PSHB program, except Medicareeligible postal retirees who do not enroll in Medicare. Because retirees without Medicare tend to cost more to insure, this bill risks increasing premiums for federal employees and retirees enrolled in Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program plans. Advanced from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform by voice vote (H.R. 3076) / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 1720)

H.R. 695/S. 145: USPS Fairness Act / Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR / Sen. Steve Daines, R-MT

Cosponsors: H.R. 695: 217 (D) 58 (R) S. 145: 5 (D) 5 (R) Repeals the U.S. Postal Service’s prefunding requirement.

H.R. 82/S. 1302: The Social Security Fairness Act / Rep. Rodney Davis, R-IL / Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH

Cosponsors: H.R. 82: 159 (D) 54 (R) S. 1302: 27 (D) 4 (R) 2 (I) Repeals both the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (H.R. 695) / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 145)

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means (H.R. 82) / Referred to Senate Committee on Finance (S. 1302)

H.R. 2337: The Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act / Rep. Richard Neal, D-MA Cosponsors: H.R. 2337: 176 (D)

H.R. 304: The Equal COLA Act / Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA Cosponsors: H.R. 304: 19 (D) 3 (R) Reforms the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) by providing a monthly rebate of $150 to current beneficiaries (age 62 or older before 2023) and creating a new formula to calculate benefits for future WEP-affected individuals (turning 62 in or after 2023). Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means

Provides Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirees with the same annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) as Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees. Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform

H.R. 4315: The Fair COLA for Seniors Act / Rep. John Garamendi, D-CA

Cosponsors: H.R. 4315: 35 (D) 1 (R) Requires Social Security and federal retirement programs to use the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) to calculate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to retirement benefits.

H.R. 4268: Federal Retirement Fairness Act / Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-WA

Cosponsors: H.R. 4268: 4 (D) 4 (R) Allows federal employees who started their careers in temporary positions before transitioning into permanent roles to retroactively contribute toward their retirement for the years they held a temporary position. Referred to the House Committees on Ways and Means, Veterans’ Affairs, Oversight and Reform, and Armed Services

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform

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H.R. 51/S. 51 Washington D.C. Admission Act / Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC / Sen. Thomas Carper, D-DE Cosponsors: H.R. 51: 216 (D) 0 (R) S. 51: 44 (D) 0 (R) 1 (I) Provides for the admission of the State of Washington, DC, into the Union. Passed the House on April 22, 2021 by a vote of 216-208 / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 51)

H.Res. 131/S.Res. 76: Resolution Celebrating NARFE’s Centennial / Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA / Sen. Ben Cardin, D-MD

Cosponsors: H.Res. 131: 13 (D) 4 (R) S.Res. 76: 3 (D) 2 (R) Congratulates NARFE on the celebration of its 100th anniversary on February 19, 2021 and recognizes the vital contributions its members have made to the United States during the past 100 years. Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (H.Res. 131) / Agreed to in the Senate by unanimous consent on February 25, 2021 (S.Res. 76)

H.R. 302: Preventing a Patronage System Act / Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA Cosponsors: H.R. 302: 9 (D) 3 (R) Requires presidential administrations to obtain the agreement of Congress to reclassify competitive service positions outside of merit system principles. Advanced from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a 22–18 vote

H.R. 392/S. 561: The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act / Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA / Sen. Brian Schatz, D-HI

Cosponsors: H.R. 392: 51 (D) 1 (R) S. 561: 11 (D) 0 (R) 1 (I) Provides federal employees with a 3.2 percent average pay raise in 2022. Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (H.R. 392) / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 561)

NARFE’s Position: Support Oppose No position

for workers to come to work sick because they can’t take a sick day?”

Committee Republicans took issue with the legislation, casting doubt on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) preliminary score of the bill, which estimates that the legislation would cost $53 million over a decade. They insisted the legislation would have a far greater cost and that federal employees already maintain “lavish” benefits. Furthermore, Republicans noted that CBO’s report did not consider costs associated with the Postal Service. The report only noted that the bill would “increase off-budget direct spending for the Postal Service by a significant amount over the five-year period.”

Committee Democrats countered the criticism, emphasizing the connection between competitive benefits and the ability to recruit and retain talented federal employees; they argued that the expanded paid leave benefits would bolster the government’s efforts to attract the best and brightest candidates. Others spoke about the need for the federal government, as the country’s largest employer, to lead by example on paid leave, setting the stage for what a nationwide paid family and medical leave program should look like.

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