Sick leave fix is not likely to reappear in tobacco bill

It's unlikely that a provision allowing some government workers to count unused sick leave toward their retirement will be reinserted into major legislation passed by Congress this week, despite lobbying by federal employee groups.

The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the 2009 Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act, 79-17, after voting on Wednesday to end debate on the legislation and stripping out federal pay and benefits measures, including a provision that would have corrected an inequity in benefits between the Federal Employees Retirement System and the older Civil Service Retirement System.

The House version of the bill contains the FERS sick leave fix, but according to the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., the House is likely to simply accept the Senate's version of H.R. 1256, instead of the two chambers hammering out any differences in conference committee -- leaving out the pay and benefits reforms.

But some supporters of H.R. 1256 said they hoped Congress would reconsider the sick leave fix in addition to other federal pay and benefits measures left out of the bill. All the provisions were contained in an amendment offered by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.

"We're going to start putting some pressure on House leadership," said Jessica Klement, government affairs director of the Federal Managers Association. "We're going to push for a conference, because it's the only way we're going to get some of these provisions to stay in the bill."

Others said they are counting on Congress to attach the provisions to other legislation. "We are searching for another vehicle, and we expect to find one," said Beth Moten, legislative director for the American Federation of Government Employees. "We expect to see it enacted this year."

She said she believed it was the legislative process -- not policy objections -- that kept the measures out of the Senate's version. Some senators, including Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., objected to the federal pay and benefits provisions because they viewed them as nongermane to the overall legislation.

"I don't think anybody has any disagreement with the FERS sick leave provision, at all," Moten said. "I think people understand it on the merits, and understand that it is a good management tool."

H.R. 1256 also did not include provisions that would have made it easier for the government to hire federal retirees on a part-time basis, and would have moved federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories from cost-of-living adjustments into the federal locality pay system.

Matt Biggs, legislative director for the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, said it was possible the measures contained in the Lieberman amendment could be picked up toward the end of the year, when Congress often considers less controversial legislation.

"There are some pretty skilled people on the Hill working on this," said Biggs.

Both the House and Senate versions of the tobacco bill include several provisions expanding federal employees' options under the Thrift Savings Plan.