House of Representatives – D.C.

Eleanor Holmes Norton was reelected as the District of Columbia’s delegate to the House of Representatives, a seat she’s held since 1991. Prior to becoming a delegate, she was the chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1977-1981. She currently serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

In October, Norton introduced a bill to give preferential points to federal government contractors based on their labor practices.

Norton also introduced in July the Restore Opportunity, Strengthen and Improve the Economy (ROSIE) Act, which gives preferential points to government contractors who support workers’ collective bargaining, pay living wages and benefits, stop wage theft and do not pay CEOs excessive salaries.

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association gave Norton a score of 100 percent in voting for or supporting bills the union supported.

Following the October 2013 government shutdown, Norton was one of the sponsors of the bipartisan House bill calling for furloughed federal employees to receive back pay once agencies reopened.

House of Representatives – Maryland – 2nd District

Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger was reelected to the House seat he’s represented since 2003.

Ruppersberger is the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The headquarters of the National Security Agency is located within his home district. He and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) co-authored the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act.

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Ruppersberger a score of 100 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills. The congressman voted “present” on Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Resolution Substitute (H.Amdt. 35 to H.Con.Res. 25), which substituted a chained CPI in figuring cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, federal and military retirees. NARFE opposed the substitute, so a “nay” vote would have supported the union’s position.

House of Representatives – Maryland – 3rd District

Democrat John Sarbanes was reelected to the House seat he’s occupied since 2007.

Sarbanes was one of the sponsors of the bipartisan telework bill that President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010. At the time, the congressman said the law was key in helping the federal government recruit and retain the “best and brightest workers.”

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Sarbanes a score of 100 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills. The congressman voted “present” on Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Resolution Substitute (H.Amdt. 35 to H.Con.Res. 25), which substituted a chained CPI in figuring cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, federal and military retirees. NARFE opposed the substitute, so a “nay” vote would have supported the union’s position.

Following the October 2013 government shutdown, Sarbanes was one of the sponsors of the bipartisan House bill calling for furloughed federal employees to receive back pay once agencies reopened.

House of Representatives – Maryland – 4th District

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) was reelected to the seat she has occupied since 2008. She is the chairwoman of the Democratic Women’s Working Group.

In August, Edwards introduced a bill seeking to reduce the amount new federal employees would have to pay toward their government retirement funds.

“Let’s stop unduly burdening our federal workers, and start asking wealthy corporations to pay their fair share,” Edwards said in a press release.

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Edwards a score of 100 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills. The congresswoman voted “present” on Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Resolution Substitute (H.Amdt. 35 to H.Con.Res. 25), which substituted a chained CPI in figuring cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, federal and military retirees. NARFE opposed the substitute, so a “nay” vote would have supported the union’s position.

Following the October 2013 government shutdown, Edwards was one of the sponsors of the bipartisan House bill calling for furloughed federal employees to receive back pay once agencies reopened.

House of Representatives – Maryland – 5th District

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was first elected to the House in 1981. He is the current Minority Whip and was the House Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee; the Transportation, Treasury and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee; and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

In 1990, Hoyer drafted and secured passage of the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act, ensuring that federal employees received comparable pay to those in the private sector.

In February 2013, Hoyer spoke out against a GOP sequestration plan that called for reducing the size of the federal workforce.

“It is simply unfair and unwise to target America’s public servants after they have already accepted a two-year pay freeze, an increased pension contribution, and a reduction and delay of a cost-of-living-adjustment this year,” Hoyer said, in a statement at that time.

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Hoyer a score of 100 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills. The congressman voted “present” on Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Resolution Substitute (H.Amdt. 35 to H.Con.Res. 25), which substituted a chained CPI in figuring cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, federal and military retirees. NARFE opposed the substitute, so a “nay” vote would have supported the union’s position.

Following the October 2013 government shutdown, Hoyer was one of the sponsors of the bipartisan House bill calling for furloughed federal employees to receive back pay once agencies reopened.

House of Representatives – Maryland – 7th District

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) was reelected to the House, where he has served since 1996.

Cummings is the ranking member on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, servicing also on the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and District of Columbia.

In August, Cummings voiced his support for phased retirement guidelines issued by the Office of Personnel Management.

“I expect that phased retirement will be an invaluable tool for agencies to ensure the preservation of institutional knowledge and the readiness of a new generation of skilled workers as the baby boomers become eligible for retirement,” he said in a statement.

A month earlier, the House passed H.R 4197, The All Circuit Review Extension Act, a bill Cummings introduced to protect federal whistleblowers.

In 2012, Cummings and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) introduced The Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012, which updated the laws governing the political activities of federal employees.

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Cummings a score of 100 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills. The congressman voted “present” on Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Resolution Substitute (H.Amdt. 35 to H.Con.Res. 25), which substituted a chained CPI in figuring cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, federal and military retirees. NARFE opposed the substitute, so a “nay” vote would have supported the union’s position.

House of Representatives – Maryland – 8th District

Democrat Chris Van Hollen was reelected to the House, where he has served since 2002. He is the ranking member on the House Budget Committee.

In July, Van Hollen voiced his support for President Obama’s executive order extending workplace protections for federal contractors.

“This executive order ensures that taxpayer dollars will not be spent on companies that repeatedly violate the safety and dignity of their workers,” he said in a statement. “The federal government must lead by example and reserve its business for those who provide safe workplaces and fair pay for their employees.”

Van Hollen opposed H.R. 4031, The Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act in May, saying the bill was “a fake solution” that didn’t address VA’s fundamental problems.

“Its stated purpose is to hold senior level employees accountable by giving the VA Secretary the authority to terminate them at-will,” Van Hollen said, in a speech on the House floor. “However, current law already allows for senior executives to be terminated for poor performance. Moreover, the VA has broad tools to remove individuals from the SES who are rated unsatisfactory, while providing them no right of appeal. In the last two years, 14 senior executives have been removed.”

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Van Hollen a score of 100 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills. The congressman voted “present” on Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Resolution Substitute (H.Amdt. 35 to H.Con.Res. 25), which substituted a chained CPI in figuring cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, federal and military retirees. NARFE opposed the substitute, so a “nay” vote would have supported the union’s position.

Senate – Virginia

In a closely contested race with challenger Ed W. Gillespie (R), who has not yet conceded, Sen. Mark Warner (D) is projected to be reelected to the Senate, where he has served since 2009. He is a member of the Committee on the Budget, Committee on Finance and the Joint Economic Committee.

Warner introduced the Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014, which modified or eliminated 53 outdated or unneeded government reports.

Warner was one of four senators to introduce a bill in November 2013 to protect military whistleblowers.

“Improving the military’s whistleblower system is an important step toward encouraging whistleblowers to report fraud, waste, and other misconduct, especially sexual assault,” Warner said in a release. “Our military men and women should trust that our justice system will protect them and provide an environment free of retaliation.”

Early in 2012, he criticized OPM’s backlog of federal retirement applications, stating that one of the 140,000 federal retirees he represents had to wait 17 months to receive a pension.

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Warner a score of 100 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills.

Ed W. Gillespie (R)

A communications consultant from Alexandria, Gillespie is a former White House aide.

According to his campaign website, Gillespie seeks to rein in federal spending and balance the federal budget. He supports a balanced budget amendment and promises “to reduce wasteful, inefficient and duplicative federal government spending.”

“Congress needs to get serious about solutions to preserve Social Security and Medicare, including the use of more accurate measures of inflation like chained CPI, so that we can preserve and protect these vital programs for future generations, and these reforms must be achieved in a bipartisan fashion,” he said.

House of Representatives – Virginia – 8th District

Democrat Donald Beyer was elected to succeed outgoing Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who represented Virginia’s 8th District since 1991. Last January, Moran announced he would step down at the end of his current term in office.

For 40 years, Beyer worked in his family’s auto sales business in Northern Virginia. He is the former lieutenant governor of Virginia and served as President Obama’s Ambassador to Switzerland.

According to his campaign website, Beyer aims to “fix the deficiencies at the Veterans Administration and veterans hospitals.”

He opposes sequestration, saying that it weakens the U.S. military.

Beyer also supports the federal workforce, which makes up a sizable portion of his constituency.

“Between sequestration, a government shutdown, a three-year pay freeze and reductions in retirement benefits, the federal workforce is under enormous strain,” Beyer said. “Through all of these trials, federal workers have performed our nation’s most critical work with the utmost professionalism and skill.”

House of Representatives – Virginia – 10th District

Republican Barabara Comstock was elected to succeed outgoing Rep. Frank Wolf (R- Va.), who has served in Congress since 1981. In December 2013, Wolf announced he would step down at the end of his current term in office.

A graduate of Georgetown Law Center, Comstock served as a senior aide to Wolf. She was also “Chief Counsel on the largest House committee tasked with investigations into waste, fraud and abuse,” according to her campaign website.

She promises to protect the national security, as well as the defense and national security infrastructure. This would include protecting the “salaries and retirement of our dedicated military.”

House of Representatives – Virginia – 11th District

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) was reelected to the House seat he has occupied since 2009. He is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Government Operations.

With outgoing Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), Connolly introduced The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates or FAIR Compensation Act, which would’ve provided federal employees with a 3.3 percent across-the-board pay raise in 2015.

Connolly co-sponsored the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, which changes the framework of how the government buys its technology.

In 2010, Connolly co-sponsored the Telework Enhancement Act, which expanded the opportunities for federal employees to telework.

In its recent scorecard of how the 113th Congress voted, NARFE gave Connolly a score of 88 percent in voting for NARFE positions on certain bills.

The congressman voted “present” on Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Resolution Substitute (H.Amdt. 35 to H.Con.Res. 25), which substituted a chained CPI in figuring cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, federal and military retirees. NARFE opposed the substitute, so a “nay” vote would have supported the union’s position.

Connolly voted for H.R. 273, which extended the federal pay freeze for a third year. He also voted for H.R. 436, which prohibited bonuses for federal employees during sequestration and established “investigative leave” for employees under investigation, which may be without pay.

Following the October 2013 government shutdown, Connolly was one of the sponsors of the bipartisan House bill calling for furloughed federal employees to receive back pay once agencies reopened.