Helping Federal Employees Navigate Congressional Chaos
When it comes to funding the government, it is fair to say that there is chaos in Congress, and federal employees are caught right in the middle.
We recently witnessed again, preparations and chatter about a government shutdown, only for Congress to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open for 45 days, at the last minute.
The uncertainty lingers though, as November 17 looms as the next shutdown deadline. Add to that the complicating factor that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed from his post after the CR, and you got a recipe for more uncertainty and more distress for the federal workforce.
So how do federal employees deal with all this back and forth? How do they deal with the uncertainty when shutdown talk rises? And how do shutdowns impact the government writ-large?
That was the topic of the latest FEDTalk with host Shaw Bransford & Roth PC Director of Government and Public Affairs Jason Briefel and co-host Shaw Bransford & Roth PC Deputy Director of Government and Public Affairs Natalia Castro.
The episode was titled “Navigating Congressional Chaos: A Federal Employee’s Guide.” Both agreed that while it was great that Congress was able to avoid the shutdown, the agreement could have been done weeks earlier, and could have eliminated so much frustration and emotion for federal workers.
“It’s not a good way to treat your employees” or “recruit future employees” noted Briefel, who pointed out that repeated shutdown chatter “exacts a mental and emotional toll on the workforce” especially when about 55 to 63 percent of the workforce lives paycheck to paycheck (in line with the broader U.S. workforce). He said it shows that Congress has a “true lack of understanding” on how shutdowns impact employees and the federal government’s operations. Even chatter about a shutdown wastes tens of thousands of manpower hours and millions of taxpayer dollars.
“This whole episode literally did nothing other than light a ton of money on fire,” said Briefel.
Castro said Congress does not realize that even under a continuing resolution, federal agencies are halted from business as usual, and will put a pause on hiring, as they are not sure if they will have the funding to maintain full-time employees.
She also stated that “congressional incompetence” is fueling the kind of wasteful spending that many House Republicans were hoping to stop.
“It doesn’t really make sense to me to pursue the least efficient means possible for getting that done,” said Castro.
Threat of Sequestration
Looming is the threat of sequestration. If an Appropriations bill is not signed into law by January 1, 2024, sequestration, or an automatic budget cut of one percent across the board, kicks in.
Briefel said sequestration is “just lazy” and prevents agencies from investing in modernization, training employees, and sets the nation back “pretty dramatically” in terms of technology, skills, and capabilities of the federal workforce. Since it is a one percent cut across the board, sequestration fails to separate the high performing programs that should continue to be funded at current levels, from the failing programs.
Castro said sequestration is not good for regulated entities that rely on expertise from the federal government.
Breaking the Cycle
The loop of shutdowns, Congress failing to fund legislation it’s passed, and then Congressional oversight complaining about failing programs, is one of the “largest challenges to effective government.”
Briefel noted that to break this cycle, Congress needs to get better at implementing the legislation it has passed and that includes funding such programs. That would mean lawmakers need to shift focus away from policy and toward implementation to better understand “how the executive branch works.” Briefel believes that parties could find common ground on implementation.
Another example is immigration. Castro pointed out that the process is operating in reverse, with Congress using appropriations as a substitute for lawmaking, as Republicans try to attach border security to appropriations bills. Castro says it is more complex and difficult when using appropriations as a form of substantiative lawmaking and that right now there is a “misalignment on the order of events in Congress.”
The hosts reviewed potential reforms to the appropriations process.
One is to shift from an annual appropriations process to biannual budgeting. This effort almost made it through the Senate previously, but appropriators were wary of giving up some power.
Other options include moving the end of the fiscal year to the end of the calendar year. There was also legislation that would put congressional business, including overseas trips, on hold, until appropriations bills were passed.
Briefel noted that it is important to empower rank and file members of Congress to make their voices heard and drive the debate, as leadership tends to veer more toward “partisan tendencies.”
You can stream the show online anytime on Federal News Network or listen to FEDtalk on all major podcasting platforms. FEDtalk is a live talk show produced by Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm. Bringing you the insider’s perspective from leaders in the federal community since 1993.
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