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Dear John,

Unfortunately, the reconciliation bill that passed in the House retains several BAD provisions impacting federal employee pay, benefits and due process rights. The Senate now will take up the bill and attempt to pass it before it can be sent to President Trump for signature. The expectation is that the Senate will significantly amend the House-passed bill and send it back to the House for final approval.

As it did with the House, AFGE will push the Senate to protect the civil service and drop the remaining FERS provisions in whatever reconciliation bill it passes.

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These are the provisions we must act on!

  1. Proposal to Eliminate the FERS supplement: The bill includes a provision to discontinue the FERS supplement for federal employees who retire early, beginning in 2028. This provision, if it becomes law, puts at risk the retirement security of tens of thousands of current workers and all future federal workers who retire before they reach the age of 62 and become eligible to collect Social Security.
  2. Proposal to Undermine the Merit-based, Nonpartisan Civil Service by Weaponizing FERS Contributions: The House-passed bill retains the provision designed to coerce new federal hires into becoming at-will employees by requiring them to pay nearly 10% of their salary to FERS if they remain in the civil service. The effect will be to make such employees political appointees who can be summarily terminated for any reason, or no reason at all, destroying the civil service’s statutory duty to faithfully execute laws of Congress without regard to an administration’s political agenda and without fear or favor to any interest. The proposal will also lead to the eventual extinction of the merit-based, nonpartisan civil service – almost certainly the true purpose of this proposal – as new federal hires choose to be at-will employees rather than devote almost 10% of their salaries to finance their pensions. This provision threatens the future of federal unions like AFGE to represent and advocate for federal workers.
  3. Proposal to Charge Federal Employees for Exercising Their Due Process Rights: The House-passed bill retains the provision to assess a fee on executive branch employees who file grievances with the Merits Systems Protection Board, the effect will be to deter federal employees from pursuing legitimate claims of discrimination, political retaliation, and workplace abuse, a process that helps ensure the integrity and nonpartisanship of the civil service. The right to seek relief from alleged government wrongdoing should not be contingent on paying what amounts to an entry fee.

Take action now!

In Solidarity,

AFGE

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