NATCA Bookshelf

federal dollars across the board, but Congress has worked to avoid it over the past several years. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PAY RAISE: On March 28, the President issued an Executive Order (EO) adjusting the pay rates and pay bands for employees covered by the General Schedule (GS) and other statutory pay systems. The general increase is 1.4 percent and the average locality increase is 0.5 percent. These increases are based upon implementation of the appropriations act signed into law on Feb. 15, that overrode the President's prior EO issued Dec. 28, which froze pay for statutory pay systems. These increases are retroactive to the first full pay period in January. The amount applied to locality will vary by locality area. NATCA's collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) provide for January pay increases and band movement equivalent to the GS increases. Locality rates are also adjusted consistent with government-wide changes. Read our full update and see the Executive Order, including locality rates. DEBT CEILING DEADLINE: Congress will need to take action to either raise or suspend the debt limit to avoid risking a default on government obligations by the end of FY 2019 or early FY 2020 (this fall). The Treasury Department has been using so-called "extraordinary measures" to avoid default but borrowing capacity will run out sometime this fall without an increase in the debt limit. NATCA Impact: In recent years, lawmakers and the White House have often clashed over the need to raise or suspend the debt ceiling. This has become an important issue for NATCA since it has disrupted the budget process for the federal government. It is possible that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration could use the debt limit as leverage for passing other priorities. NATCA Government Affairs will continue to closely monitor the debt ceiling debate in the coming months. BOEING 737 MAX CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT: The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing titled, "The State of Airline Safety: Federal Oversight of Commercial Aviation" on Wednesday, March 27. This hearing examined challenges to the state of commercial aviation safety, including any specific concerns highlighted by recent accidents. The Subcommittee heard from government witnesses including: The Honorable Robert Sumwalt, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board; The Honorable Calvin Scovel, Inspector General, Department of Transportation; and Mr. Daniel Elwell, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration. LEGISLATIVE WATCHLIST: As a reminder, any bills from the 115 th Congress died at the start of the new 116 th session. Any legislation will have to be reintroduced in the new Congress in order to be considered. From the White House, President Trump will continue to drive his own legislative agenda and work to shore up political support from his base in preparation for the 2020 election. NATCA Government Affairs staff continues to monitor any anti-federal employee legislation and other actions that impact the NATCA membership, including those that would attack the use of official time and federal employee pay and benefits.

• Cover
• SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT