{"id":22702,"date":"2019-07-12T17:42:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T17:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/12\/defense-budget-bill-could-carry-changes-for-feds\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:53:07","slug":"defense-budget-bill-could-carry-changes-for-feds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/07\/12\/defense-budget-bill-could-carry-changes-for-feds\/","title":{"rendered":"House passes defense bill with federal employee amendments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Update: July 12, 1:35 p.m.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 220 to 197 vote that fell primarily on party lines, the House voted to pass the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act<\/a> that includes provisions to grant federal employees 12 weeks of paid family leave and to block the breakup of the Office of Personnel Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation now must be reconciled with the Senate version of the same bill, which does not include the family leave or OPM amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original article<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Democrats have moved to add provisions to the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that would impact federal employees beyond those that work in the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two amendments to the NDAA, which were approved by the Rules Committee July 9, would prevent the Trump administration\u2019s plan to break up the Office of Personnel Management and provide federal employees with 12 weeks of paid family leave in the case of a new child or family member in need of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Congress takes seriously the recruitment and retention challenges facing the federal government, such as a well-documented skills gap and the need to fill mission-critical positions, then implementing a paid family leave policy that is a human resources best practice is a no-brainer. With the federal workforce aging, recruitment of young workers is more important than ever, and offering paid family leave is a good step towards meeting these challenges,\u201d said National Active and Retired Federal Employees National President Ken Thomas in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe applaud the House for recognizing the importance of this measure by attaching it to a critical defense spending bill, and we urge all members of Congress to pass the FY20 NDAA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t