This NARFE Legislative Hotline, number 676, was released Friday, June 26^th.  This edition reports on the most recent legislation impacting current and future federal retirees.  Due to the Independence Day recess (6/26 through 7/3), the next scheduled Hotline is set for Friday, July 10^th.

On June 22^nd, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (now P.L. 111-31).  Beyond its obvious and historic impact this new law requires that newly hired federal employees will be automatically enrolled in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and will be eligible to receive an immediate matching contribution from their employing agencies.  In addition, the new law gives the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), the independent federal agency and fiduciary that administers the TSP, the authority to add a “Roth”-type option to the plan, which would allow participants to make after-tax contributions to TSP accounts and withdraw their earnings tax-free upon retirement. Furthermore, the new law authorizes the Board to allow participants to invest their accounts in mutual funds outside the investment funds currently offered by the TSP.  NARFE’s web site provides more detailed coverage.  (The URL is http://www.narfe.org/departments/home/articles.cfm?ID=1827)

On June 25, the House of Representatives approved 389-22 the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647) which included most of the same civil service reform proposals that Senators Joseph Lieberman, I-CT, and Susan Collins, R-ME, had promoted, but which did not make its way into a Tobacco Bill on June 10.  The House-passed bill contained several NARFE support provisions, including a plan to allow Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) workers to credit their unused sick leave toward retirement.  Notable for having been left out of the package of provisions is NARFE’s priority to allow for the Re-employment of federal annuitants on a temporary, tenure-limited basis without loss of salary or annuity.  The Senate was planning to consider its own version of the Defense Authorization after the Independence Day recess.  Senators Lieberman, Collins, Daniel Akaka, D-HI, and George Voinovich, R-OH, are considering how they would add the civil service improvements to the Senate’s Defense bill.

Senate and House legislative drafts to entirely overhaul health care provide a vehicle in which to include our Premium Conversion legislation (H.R. 1203/S. 491).  Regardless of whether you have taken any previous action, President Margaret Baptiste asks each NARFE member to immediately contact his or her Congressional delegation, one Representative and two Senators.  Use NARFE's Legislative Action Center to easily send a message to your Congressional delegation, one Representative and both Senators.  (Use www.capwiz.com/narfe)

Since the first week of June, Region Vice Presidents and their federation presidents and legislative officers have been organizing and coordinating with District and Chapter Officers to prepare for NARFE Grass-Roots Advocacy Month.  Grass-Roots Advocacy Month (see June magazine pages 16 and 18) is designed to use the summer recess, August through Labor Day, September 7, to conduct visits with every Representative and Senator.  Complete information packets about the August Grass-Roots Advocacy Month were sent to federation and chapter presidents and legislative officers and are available on the NARFE website: http://www.narfe.org/departments/legislation/articles.cfm?ID=1803 

NARFE members need not wait until August to visit their lawmakers, particularly if their Members of Congress serve on either the Senate Finance Committee

(http://capwiz.com/narfe/directory/committees.tt?commid=sfina)

 or House Ways and Means Committee (http://capwiz.com/narfe/directory/committees.tt?commid=hways).  These tax writing committees are deciding the outcome of health care legislation and their members are in a unique position to help us add premium conversion to the overhaul of health care.  Nearly every Representative and most Senators will spend the Independence Day recess, June 27^th through July 6^th, in their districts and states.  Many will attend parades and conduct Town Hall meetings.  NARFE now lists Congressional Town Hall meetings on the Legislative Activists section of our Web site.

Thank you for using the Hotline.  This weekly legislative message is available to telephone callers (703/838-7780 and toll free at 1-877-217-8234), posted on NARFE's Internet site, www.narfe.org, made available to NARFE-Net Coordinators; and broadcast to over 47,000 GEMS e-mail addresses.  Each delivery channel is a service of the NARFE, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.