Government Executive Magazine - 9/5/00 Benefits issues await return of Congress

After a month filled with presidential conventions and stumping on the campaign trail, members of Congress get back to business this week with a laundry list of bills awaiting their return.

The mammoth fiscal 2001 Treasury-Postal spending bill, which funds several federal agencies and contains many federal employee provisions, is among the major issues left to tackle.

"There is concern that there has been inadequate funds allocated for the agencies," a spokesman for the National Treasury Employees Union said. "We're hoping that they come back with fresh eyes, and go ahead and provide the funds that are needed."

Rushing to get through the appropriations process before the August recess, House and Senate conferees combined conference reports on the $2.5 billion legislative branch and $15.6 billion Treasury-Postal spending bills into a single package. Some Senators were angered by the move because they had not debated the bill nor had what they deemed sufficient time to review it. House Republican leaders brought the combined Legislative Branch/Treasury-Postal measure to the floor, but adjourned without voting on it.

Though the legislation provides nearly $2 billion less than President Clinton requested, the combined conference package contains several measures affecting federal employees, including a one-year extension of the pilot program that allows agencies to subsidize child care costs for lower-income employees.

Other provisions of the bill include a rollback in retirement benefits contributions for federal employees and members of Congress; a requirement that all current and newly hired workers in federal child care centers undergo criminal background checks; and a requirement that all federal agencies report to Congress on when and how they use personal information, or "cookies", collected from individuals visiting government Web sites.

Also on the agenda is a bill that would extend buyout authority to the General Accounting Office. Comptroller General David Walker has pushed for the bill, which would also allow GAO to base any future reductions in force on skills and performance, rather than on seniority.