A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/862302
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE AND CRITICAL DEADLINES The House and Sen ate are both on August recess. When they return after Labor Day, lawmakers will face imminent deadlines for legislative action. Congress has until Sept. 29 to raise the nation ' s debt limit to avoid a default, Sept. 30 to pass some kind of spending package to avoid a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, and Sept. 30 to reauthorize the FAA. See more on these issues below. FY 18 BUDGET PROPOSALS Congressional "budget resolutions" set a tax and spending framework for Congress to enact annual appropriations bills. This year, Republicans are eager to get a Fiscal Year 2018 (FY 18) budget resolution passed this fall in order to lay the groundwork for their top priority, which is tax reform. See below for details and the status of budget p roposals from the White House, Senate, and U.S. House. As a reminder, a budget proposal is not law. NATCA Impact : As a reminder, while both chambers of Congress and the President have the ability to offer budget proposals, Congress still needs to enact spe cific budget provisions into law. While budget proposals do not have the force of law, they serve as a blueprint for the 12 appropriations bills. NATCA analyzes any budget proposal closely to determine the potential impact on our member pay and benefits. G A continues to work with members of Congress and their staff on this issue, with a specific focus on funding for the FAA as well as any changes to federal employee pay and benefits. FERS Supplemental : NATCA staff and the NLC are focused on the potential th at the budget proposal could lead to the elimination of the FERS supplemental retirement payments. The House FY 18 budget resolution (see below) contains instructions directing House committees to reduce federal spending by a minimum of $203 billion over t he next 10 years. Specifically, the House Oversight and Government Reform committee (OGR) was instructed to produce a minimum of $32 billion in cuts. Because of its jurisdiction over a wide - range of federal employee issues, these OGR cuts are expected to c ome from federal employee benefit and retirement programs. Such cuts could include eliminating the FERS supplemental retirement payments, cutting the take - home pay for federal workers who participate in FERS by making them pay substantially higher contribu tions, or eliminating the FERS defined benefit pension/annuity for new federal employees and transitioning them to a defined contribution retirement system. NATCA will continue to fight against any proposals that could harm or cut the retirement benefits o f NATCA members. White House Budget : The White House released its FY 18 budget proposal in May. As expected, the budget calls for an increase in defense spending, offset by a decrease in discretionary spending. Click here to view a message that NATCA President Rinaldi and EVP Gilbert sent out to the membership. House & Senate Budgets : The House Budget Committee approved the Republican - drafted budget proposal for t he FY 18 budget on July 19, 2017. House leadership has indicated that a vote on the budget proposal is likely when Congress returns in September. Click here to view NATCA's press release on the House budget resolution. In the Senate, it's possible the Senate Budget Committee could mark up an FY 18 budge t resolution in September, but so far we have not seen any proposal. We expect that the Senate budget blueprint will include a so - called reconciliation provision aimed at easing passage of a tax code overhaul. The reconciliation process allows