Federal Daily - March 22, 2010

Bill Would Allow Deposit of Unused Leave Dollars into TSP

Lawmakers introduced a bill that would—if signed into law—allow retiring federal employees and those leaving federal civil service to deposit money received from unused annual leave into their Thrift Savings Plan.

The bill, H.R. 4865, the Federal Employees and Uniformed Services Retirement Equity Act of 2010, was introduced March 17 by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. The bill would cover those employed under the Civil Service Retirement System, Federal Employees Retirement System, postal workers and servicemembers.

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen M. Kelley applauded the TSP bill, and said it closely tracked a similar proposal the union offered last fall.

“This is a sound proposal that allows federal employees to add to their retirement accounts, boosting their savings and giving them an option for investing a lump sum of money they may receive when leaving federal service,” Kelley said. “Many federal employees carry over the maximum amount of 240 hours of annual leave on a yearly basis and this legislation could significantly boost their accounts.”

To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1541.

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NATCA Urges Full Funding of Controller Positions

National Air Traffic Controllers Association representatives urged lawmakers last week to fully fund the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control system and not make any staffing reductions as Congress debates the agency’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget request.

NATCA Executive Vice President Patricia Gilbert testified on FAA’s budget submission before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development on March 18.

Gilbert said that while FAA’s Air Traffic Organization operations budget proposal cites trends that show a downturn in traffic as a result of the faltering economy, it would be a mistake to use that trend to justify reductions in controller positions. “Adjusting staffing downward for this reason is shortsighted,” Gilbert said. “As this economy inevitably recovers, so too will the aviation industry.”

Controllers rare not made overnight, Gilbert noted, and FAA needs to be prepared. “Because it can take up to three years for a new hire to become a certified professional controller,” Gilbert said, “it is impossible for the workforce size to be adjusted quickly when the industry rebounds without preparing in advance.”

To see more, go to: http://tinyurl.com/ykcj6vz.

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