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House Committee Advances Federal Internship and First Responder Retirement Bills  

On May 11, the Committee on Oversight and Reform advanced H.R. 6104, the Building the Next Generation of Federal Employees Act, and H.R. 521, the First Responder Fair RETIRE Act, with NARFE’s endorsement.  

The Building the Next Generation of Federal Employees Act, introduced by Rep. Connolly, D-VA, would create a Federal Fellowship and Scholarship Center, codify the Pathways Internship Program, build an online internship platform to tap into a new generation of federal workers, and connect qualified individuals with federal agencies. The legislation would also help convert interns into full-time federal employees by giving individuals who successfully complete a qualified federal internship a boost in the competitive hiring process.  

Connolly noted that the bill would “broaden the talent pool and broaden the opportunity, especially for those with disadvantaged backgrounds.” He added that H.R. 6104 would “allow agencies to more effectively hire people early in their careers who already have relevant work experience.”  

The First Responder Fair RETIRE Act was also introduced by Connolly. It would allow law enforcement and other public safety officers who are disabled in the line of duty to maintain their special category retirement benefits when they are reassigned to a different civil service position outside of that retirement category. Connolly believes that this “technical correction” would allow the federal government to “uphold its retirement promise it made to its first responders.”  

NARFE National President Ken Thomas sent a letter in support of the bills. He argued H.R. 6104 would “help revitalize federal internship programs and create a crucial pipeline of talent to federal service,” while H.R. 521 would “honor the service of federal public safety employees who suffer from a disabling injury or illness in performance of their job.”