• Lawmakers are making a bipartisan effort to secure better retirement benefits for federal firefighters. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) have introduced the Federal Firefighters Families First Act. If enacted, many federal firefighters would receive larger retirement benefits. The House bill aims to change the retirement calculation for federal firefighters to account for overtime hours worked. The lawmakers said the bill would align federal firefighters’ benefits with what state and local firefighters already receive.
  (Federal Firefighters Families First Act - Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.))
• Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are working together on a bill to reform some IRS operations. The draft bill from Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho.) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) would increase the independence of the National Taxpayer Advocate. It would also increase civil and criminal penalties on tax professionals that deliberately take actions that harm their clients. The bill would also strengthen the IRS whistleblower program while protecting the confidentiality of taxpayer information.
  (Crapo, Wyden issue discussion draft to improve IRS administration - Senate Finance Committee)
• Russ Vought made it through another hurdle on the way to becoming the new director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Senate Budget Committee voted 11-0 to move Vought forward for consideration by the full Senate. The Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote, instead they had asked Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to postpone the vote on Vought for two weeks while they get full and complete responses to questions from the nominee. Vought also received approval last week by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
  (Senate Budget Committee advances OMB director nominee - Senate Budget Committee)
• A stopgap spending bill raises doubts about the Office of Personnel Management’s offer for mass resignations. Congress passed a continuing resolution at the end of last year locking in current government spending levels through March 14. Former federal officials said that means agencies can’t guarantee OPM’s offer for paid administrative leave if federal employees agree to resign. The Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits agencies from obligating funds ahead of what Congress has appropriated. Federal employees on administrative leave aren’t guaranteed back pay.
  (Continuing resolution creates doubts agencies can honor OPM’s ‘deferred resignation’ deal - Federal News Network)

        Join us Mar. 25-26 at 1 p.m. ET to hear from top Defense and industry leaders on the latest tech, strategy and innovation shaping DoD modernization during the DoD Modernization Exchange event. | Register now!

• Agencies no longer have individual goals for awarding contracts to small disadvantaged businesses. Instead, the Small Business Administration reset agency goals on Jan. 24, reverting back to setting a floor of 5% for every agency. SBA’s decision seems related to the Trump administration ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. This move also ends the Biden administration’s govermentwide initiative to award 15% of all federal prime contracts to Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) by the end of fiscal 2025. While 2024 numbers are not finalized, agencies awarded more money to SDBs in 2023 than ever before, totaling more than $176 billion.
  (SBA resets some small business goals for 2025 - Federal News Network)
• Employees at the Office of Personnel Management are getting more details on what the federal return-to-office mandate will look like. Starting March 3, OPM employees are expected to report to work on-site full-time. That’s according to an email OPM’s acting director sent to all staff this week. OPM is mandating a full return to office for employees currently on a telework or remote work agreement located within 50 miles of an OPM facility. The email, however, also raises questions for remote agency employees located more than 50 miles from any OPM facility. Employees in that situation are being directed to either report to the closest facility anyway, or otherwise make plans to relocate to be closer to an OPM office. But federal workplace experts are warning that pushing remote workers to relocate will lead to “significant hardships” for individuals, as well as broader challenges with retention and productivity. The OPM email comes in response to President Trump’s directive to end remote work in the federal workforce.
  (OPM’s return-to-office plans include relocating some remote workers - Federal News Network)
• As the Pentagon moves to end all diversity, equity and inclusion programs, an intelligence agency has announced a pause on observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, Holocaust Days of Remembrance, among other cultural events. The Defense Intelligence Agency sent a memo to its staff putting “special observances” on hold until further notice right after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning all DEI programs in the military and barring transgender troops from serving in the military. The memo also comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched a task force to abolish all DEI offices and eradicate DEI programs in the military. The White House indicated it still plans to celebrate the "contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religion, or creed, have made” to the country.
  (Defense Intelligence Agency pauses observances of cultural holidays, events - White House Press Briefing)
• Daniel Driscoll, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Army, pledged to expand the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. If confirmed as the Army’s next secretary, Driscoll said expanding the program across the country requires “focus from the top.” “These are the kind of lineages and relationships and chains that we can build into communities that can get us not just one future soldier, but get us generations of soldiers.” He also pledged to address the shortage of personnel in cyber-related roles. As of last year, the Defense Department reported about 28,000 unfilled military and civilian cyber roles. Driscoll also said he would immediately fill the role of the principal cyber advisor to the Army.
  (Army Secretary nominee pledges to expand Junior ROTC program - Federal News Network)

Copyright © 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.