A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/1182646
The lead Republican on the legislation is Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, a senior member of the House T&I Committee. In the Senate, Senator Jerry Moran, R- Kan., introduced S. 762. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PAY RAISE There currently are different proposals regarding pay raises for 2020 for federal employees coming from the House, Senate, and Administration. Each year, the president is required to submit an alternative pay plan to Congress by the end of August, otherwise, significant automatic pay increases will take effect under the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act. On Aug. 30, President Trump issued an alternative pay plan for 2020 in which he endorsed a 2.6% across the board pay increase for civilian federal employees, but no increase to locality pay, effectively ending the administration's push for a pay freeze next year. Congress also has the ability to propose pay raises for federal employees. For FY 2020, the House-passed Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes a proposed 2.6% raise across the board, plus a 0.5% increase in locality pay, so with the House proposal, most could see a total increase of 3.1%. However, the Senate FSGG bill does not contain any pay raise proposal for federal employees. Next Steps: Because a CR was signed into law to extend current funding for the government at FY 2019 levels, the federal employee pay raise proposals are on hold until the House and Senate agree to a final FSGG appropriations bill, and it is signed into law by the President. However, it is becoming increasingly likely that another CR will be enacted come Nov. 21. Alternatively, the President could decide to implement his proposed 2.6% increase in 2020. NATCA GA staff will continue to work on this and provide updates. SUPPORTING PAID PARENTAL LEAVE NATCA signed onto a letter in support of parental leave provisions in the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This letter advocates for the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (H.R. 1534), which would grant 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption or foster placement of a new child; up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious medical condition; 12 weeks of paid leave if they are unable to work due to a serious medical condition; and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for other purposes that qualify for unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), including for certain military, caregiving and leave purposes. Next Steps: The letter encourages this language to be included in the FY 2020 NDAA, the annual defense policy bill. So far, this year's NDAA measure has been stalled. As a result, the Senate Armed Services chairman is preparing a backup measure in case the House and Senate are unable to reconcile their versions of the full bill. This would be a "clean" version of the NDAA and not include any substantive changes, such as the above proposal. GA staff will continue to provide updates.