Bill Tracker 2013: Proposals affecting fed pay, benefits and more

There's been no shortage of legislation introduced this year affecting the federal workforce. Federal News Radio's Bill Tracker follows the bills that would aff...

From barring employee bonuses to ending “official time,” there’s been no shortage of legislation introduced this year affecting the federal workforce. Federal News Radio’s Bill Tracker follows the bills affecting federal pay and benefits, the size of the workforce and more.

This page will be regularly updated. Check back for status changes and the addition of new bills.

(Last updated: Oct. 8, 2013)

Impact on feds Description Bill/Sponsor Status
ENSURES BACKPAY FOR FEDS FURLOUGHED DURING THE SHUTDOWN Would guarantee both those employees required to work through the shutdown and those placed on unpaid leave receive backpay once Congress restores funding.
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H.R.3223

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) / Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.)

Passed unanimously by the House, awaiting vote in the Senate (10/5/13/td>
REQUIRES ALL FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO PURCHASE HEALTH INSURANCE FROM AFFORDABLE CARE ACT EXCHANGES Would amend the Affordable Care Act to require that all federal employees purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Currently, only members of Congress and their staffers are required to do so. H.R.1780

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.)

Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee’s Health subcommittee (5/3/13/td>
ELIMINATES THE USE OF OFFICIAL TIME BY FEDERAL EMPLOYES Ends the practice of allowing federal employees to work on union activities during official work hours. Feds spent 3.4 million work hours on union activities in 2012.
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H.R.107 / S. 785

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) / Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (1/3/2013)
ELIMINATES THE USE OF OFFICIAL TIME BY FEDERAL EMPLOYES Ends the practice of allowing federal employees to work on union activities during official work hours. Feds spent 3.4 million work hours on union activities in 2012.
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H.R.107 / S. 785

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) / Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (1/3/2013)
LIMITS AGENCY CONFERENCE SPENDING Limits agencies’ conference spending to 80 percent of the amount spent on conferences in 2010 and caps the cost of a single conference to $500,000 S. 1347

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)

Referred to Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (7/23/13)
REQUIRES ANNUAL REPORT ON OFFICIAL TIME Requires the Office of Personnel Management to submit an annual report to Congress on how often feds use official work time to work on union business S. 1338

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)

Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (7/23/13)
MAKES TAX-DELINQUENT EMPLOYEES INELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT Makes any applicant or current federal employe with a “seriously delinquent” tax debt ineligible for federal employment H.R.249

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)

Failed to reach the two-thirds majority required for the bill to be adopted (4/15/13)
INDEFINITELY SUSPENDS ONLINE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR SES MEMBERS Repeals expanded financial-disclosure reporting requirements for Senior Executive Service members under the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.
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S. 716

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

House and Senate unanimously approved the measure in April 2013, and the President signed into law (4/17/13)
ENDS FURLOUGHS of AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS Grants Federal Aviation Administration authority to shift more than $250 million from separate budget accounts to halt furloughs of air-traffic controllers
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H.R.1765

Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa)

The House and the Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure in late April 2013, and the President signed into law. (5/2/13)
ALLOWS FEDS FOUR WEEKS OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE Allows federal workers four weeks of paid parental leave when they give birth or adopt a child. Current law provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but few feds can afford to take it. H.R.517

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)

Referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (2/5/13)
REDUCES WORKFORCE BY 10 PERCENT THROUGH ATTRITION Caps the number of federal employee positions at 90 percent of the total number of feds as of September 2012. H.R.824

Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wis.)

Referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (2/26/13)
EXTENDS MSPB APPEAL RIGHTS TO USPS EMPLOYEES Extends protections against adverse personnel actions, including right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, to U.S. Postal Service employees. H.R. 1431 / S. 686

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) / Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)

Introduced in the House and the Senate (4/9/13)
LIMITS DISCRETIONARY AWARDS Establishes limits in fiscal 2013, 2014 and 2015 for discretionary awards and other payments to federal employees H.R.1541

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.)

Reported out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (7/24/13)
PROHIBITS SES BONUSES DURING SEQUESTRATION Prohibits agencies from paying Senior Executive Service members’ performance awards when sequestration is in effect H.R. 2222

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.)

Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (6/3/13)
PROHIBITS ALL DISCRETIONARY BONUSES DURING SEQUESTRATION Prohibits all discretionary bonuses for feds during sequestration; allows agency to place feds on “investigative leave” without pay during investigation of neglect of duty or serious misconduct H.R. 2879

Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.)

Passed the House, heads to Senate for consideration (8/1/13)

If you know about a bill that affects federal pay and benefits and don’t see it on the list, Email us.

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