It’s Personal
By Jimmy Warden
NAPS Secretary/Treasurer
It’s always been said, “Don’t make it personal; keep it business.” Well, this is one time I must disagree. It was great seeing everyone at the recent Legislative Training Seminar. Our delegates went to the Hill seeking support for extremely important bills—bills that, if passed, would positively affect every active and associate member of NAPS and their family. But these efforts cannot stop here.
Every NAPS member must continue their legislative advocacy back home if we are to be successful. Every NAPS member, their family members and friends need to contact their congressional members and insist they support specific legislation I list below.
Albert Einstein said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” We all need to keep moving forward on our legislative issues. Whether or not you attended this year’s LTS, we need your grassroots engagement. Which of these bills, if enacted, would benefit you?
H.R. 594, the Postal Supervisors and Managers Fairness Act of 2023. The primary sponsors are Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Michael Bost (R-IL). The bill, introduced Jan. 27, 2023, would stipulate that EAS pay consultations start 60 days before the expiration of the existing EAS “pay agreement.” The bill also would make binding the USPS and the supervisors’ organization to the findings and conclusions of an independent Federal Mediation and Conciliation fact-finding panel.
H.R. 595, the Postal Employee Appeal Rights Amendments Act. The primary sponsors are Reps. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY). The bill, also introduced Jan. 27, 2023, would confer to approximately 5,000 non-supervisory managerial postal employees the right to appeal significant personnel actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. The primary sponsors are Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA). The bill, introduced Jan. 9, 2023, would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, sections of the Social Security law that unfairly reduce the rightful benefits of Civil Service Retirement System annuitants and surviving spouses of these annuitants.
H.R. 866, the Equal COLA Act. The primary sponsor is Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). The bill, introduced Feb. 8, 2023, would create parity between cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) with respect to a Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuity and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuity.
H.R. 716, the Fair COLA for Seniors Act. The primary sponsor is Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). The bill, introduced Feb. 1, 2023, would provide more accurate COLAs for federal retirees by calculating COLAs using the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), which better reflects the spending behavior of seniors than the current methodology.
For years, we advocated for and finally were successful in getting H.R. 3076 enacted, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. That was “business.”
Passage of this bill has given the Postal Service a path to financial stability into the future and the ability to make much-needed change. The bill also will help secure the future of the USPS, which will have a positive effect on our nation’s economy.
Now it needs to be “personal.” I’m certain one or more of the five bills I listed would benefit you and your family. If you are an active member, you need to be engaged now to assure your future retirement. As Einstein said, we need to keep moving!
Increasing membership demonstrates leadership. Stay safe.
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