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July 30, 2018 One-Stop Shopping for ATO Information in an Age of Sensory Overload Hi everyone, We live in an age of information overload and it's difficult to stay current when we're bombarded with news, emails and other media competing for our attention. So, I thought it might be helpful to provide a quick update on a number of items that many of you have been trying to track. Let's start with the budget. Year-end closeout activities are about to begin, and we're watching Congress for the fiscal year 2019 budget while the House and Senate swap versions. At this stage, it looks like we might start Oct. 1 with a continuing resolution that will extend past the November elections. The agency is working on a FY2020 budget proposal that we'll discuss soon with our colleagues at the Department of Transportation (DOT). We're also keeping an eye on Capitol Hill while lawmakers consider the 2018 reauthorization bill. We think we might get an extension of the current reauthorization while that next bill is ironed out on the Hill. As the end of our performance year approaches on Sept. 30, be on the lookout for information about key dates for performance reviews that will vary depending on your job and program. I have great news about hiring. For the third year in a row, we have met and exceeded our air traffic controller hiring goal. We surpassed our FY18 hiring target of 1,701 employees onboarding at either the FAA Academy or reporting directly to a facility. We're still looking for great controllers, though, so please get the word out that the FAA is accepting applications nationwide beginning today (July 27). Tell them to apply early because the job announcement could be closed prior to the listed date of July 31 if a sufficient applicant pool has been reached to meet our needs. Interested applicants should visit www.usajobs.gov to start building their applications or www.faa.gov/Jobs for more information about air traffic controllers. We also anticipate meeting our hiring goal for our technician workforce. So far, we have met 84 percent of our hiring target of 216 for FY18. Our staffing levels for Airway Transportation Systems Specialist at System Support Centers is over 98 percent including those who have firm offer letters. Next year, our goal will be a little higher at 288. Some of you have started thinking about retirement and I have updates for you as well. The FAA received approval from DOT for a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) program, and now we hope to hear back from the Office of Personnel Management very soon. If we get the final go-ahead, a select group of employees could qualify for the VERA/VSIP. Also, the FAA has started a very limited one-year pilot program to test phased retirement involving about 75 employees across the nation. The ATO will be watching closely how this pilot works out in the five lines of business that are participating. It is critical that we

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