Pay & Benefits
House panel advances bill to update federal worker buyout caps
Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments offered to federal workers during agency downsizings, have been capped at $25,000 since the 1990s. Newly advanced legislation would tie maximum payouts to half of an employee’s annual salary.
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Oversight
Democrats ask watchdog marked by past controversy to expedite reviews of ICE, CBP
Misconduct allegations against Homeland Security Department inspector general Joseph Cuffari were substantiated in 2024, but President Joe Biden did not remove him.
Management
House Democrats call for Kristi Noem’s firing in rally outside ICE headquarters
Congressional Democrats continued to keep up the pressure on the Homeland Security secretary Tuesday in the wake of the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents.
Pay & Benefits
Congress guarantees furloughed feds’ back pay despite continued White House maneuvering
The Office of Personnel Management removed citations of the 2019 Federal Employee Fair Treatment Act from its shutdown guidance last month, as the Trump administration continues to insist that the law guaranteeing all federal employees back pay after a shutdown doesn’t.
Workforce
Employees begin furloughs as lawmakers hope to end shutdown Tuesday
The unusual nature of the funding lapse has led to some confusion for impacted federal workers.
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Management
Shutdown deal struck after failed Senate vote
Senate Democrats and the White House reached an agreement late Thursday to fund most departments and agencies through Sept. 30 after a previous funding bill was blocked.
Management
Eleanor Holmes Norton to retire from Congress after decades of advocating for federal employees
Norton has been a “loyal friend” to the American Federation of Government Employees, said National President Everett Kelley.
Workforce
Out of government, former USAID employees continue to offer their expertise
Former development workers founded Aid on the Hill to lobby members of Congress about international assistance.
Management
Funding rescissions, re-staffing initiatives and other major takeaways from the final FY26 funding package
Lawmakers again declined to provide Trump with most of the funding cuts he requested.
Oversight
New Senate bill would bar administration officials from serving as an inspector general
Most IGs confirmed since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term have experience working in his administration.
Management
Education begins moving out employees even as Congress says it lacks authority
In bipartisan, bicameral spending package, lawmakers look to pump the brakes on the dismantling of Education that the department advanced on Tuesday.
Management
Shutdown odds plummet after House and Senate strike bipartisan deal on remaining funding bills
New package would avoid significant cuts at most agencies.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers propose 35% pay raise for federal prison workers
Bipartisan legislation would establish a special pay rate for employees at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons until the agency reduces its reliance on mandatory overtime and augmentation of support staff’s duties.
Workforce
Democrats question White House tech lead on how workforce churn will impact AI Action Plan
Several House lawmakers also worried over whether the Trump administration’s budget request for 2026 would fall short of the funding agencies need to successfully carry out the White House’s AI action plan.
Oversight
How many Jan. 6 rioters work for the federal government? Raskin wants to find out
The Maryland Democrat also criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for wearing masks in a letter to the Trump administration that the Homeland Security Department called “reckless, disgusting and unhinged.”
Management
Trump administration stands up consolidated federal firefighting agency over bipartisan congressional reservations
Interior says it is only restructuring internally, though it is still working toward Trump's goal of an interagency merger.
Oversight
Most newly confirmed Trump inspectors general previously worked in his administration, raising fears about independent agency oversight
These oversight officials may have to recuse themselves from investigations of programs they previously worked on, an expert said.
Management
A federal workforce census, targeted cuts and more key takeaways from the latest FY26 spending package
The latest "minibus" fully funds some offices Trump sought to zero out, creates a new flexible account for the president and has some suggestions for new federal building designs.
Oversight
House Democrats say revived Noem policy restricting congressional visits to ICE facilities violates court order
This second attempt by the Homeland Security Department to put a seven-day notice requirement on lawmaker tours of immigration detention facilities follows the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Management