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Virginia General Assembly United States Congress |
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Congress is now in session, following their Easter recess. The Bill to increase the federal debt limit was strongly defeated in the House of Representatives. This was the “clean” Bill that the President wanted. Any future Bill is likely to contain some cost cutting measures. There have been a lot of cries of anguish over proposals being made in Congress. Many of these proposals appear personally directed at federal employees and retirees; however, they are really part of an attempt to solve a real fiscal problem. May of the scary proposals are just that, proposals. No one has submitted Bills to adopt the proposals. The immediate threat to federal employees, retirees, and annuitants is the deficit-reduction package under serious consideration by the so-called Blair House group headed by Vice President Joseph Biden. Much of this effort is based on the report of the President’s bipartisan deficit commission, issued in December 2010 but not adopted. Several parts of this package, if adopted, could have the following dire consequences for federal employees, retirees, and annuitants: FERS employees would see their take-home pay reduced by 5% to help cover their retirement costs. They currently pay 6.2% for Social Security taxes and 0.8% for federal retirement. The new rate for federal retirement would be 5.8%, which unlike Social Security, applies to the entire salary.Page 3 of 6 All federal employees, retirees, and annuitants under the FEHBP health insurance plans would see their percentage of health premiums increase. Currently the federal government pays about 72% of the annual health insurance premiums. This federal government percentage could easily be reduced to 50%. Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for federal retirees and annuitants and for Social Security recipients would be calculated much less favorably. The current method of calculating COLAs offers some protection from inflation. Reducing this protection, while the federal government is adopting a fiscal policy that increases inflation, will only make the problem worse. It is unclear which proposals will finally be in the legislation voted upon; however these three issues appear to be the most likely to be included. The Bill, when it comes before Congress, will likely be voted on an up or down vote with little or no opportunity to amend it. To have any affect, you need to contact your Congressman now about these proposals! The current deadline to address the federal debt limit is August 2nd; however, that date may not be as fixed as the combatants are making it sound. |
| State Legislation in Virginia |
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The final legislative action to be taken in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the 2011 General Assembly session will be the redistricting of the 11 federal congressional districts. The General Assembly will have met from June 9th through June 11th to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the political boundaries map. It appears that whatever the final decision is, NARFE Dulles Chapter 1241 members will largely be residing in either Congressman Connelly’s 11 th District or Congressman Wolf’s 10th District. Those members in the Reston area, who have been represented by Congressman Moran, will likely be in the 11th District. The Commonwealth of Virginia State political districts are also changing. Many of you will see a heightened level of political activity during the summer, with candidates seeking your vote in the primaries in August. Many of these candidates will be unfamiliar to you, as both the House of Delegates and State Senate district boundaries will be radically changed.. In fact, many members who live in Loudoun County may find themselves in one of the new House of delegates districts, or at least a different one than they were in the last time they voted. We should have more definitive information by the time of the Chapter Luncheon meeting on June 27th |
