The Waiting Game: Legislative Successes Are Possible With Persistence
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The prompt for this round of the FEDforum is better late than never. This week, hear from the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE).
Did you ever wonder why it seems to take so long for Congress to pass a bill?
An incredible amount of work is involved in urging lawmakers to act on legislation. NARFE’s lobbying staff, federation and chapter leaders, advocacy leaders and the entire membership collaborate to pursue advocacy goals, but some legislative wins can take years.
According to www.Congress.gov, some 17,000 bills and resolutions have been introduced in the 117th Congress, from January 3, 2021, through November 29, 2022. Only a few hundred of those have become law.
That means that nearly all bills and resolutions that have been introduced are still sitting in their jurisdictional committees. Because the 118th Congress will begin in January, wiping the legislative slate clean, most bills will never receive even committee consideration.
In the 1970s, the Schoolhouse Rock video “I’m Just a Bill” taught children how a bill becomes law. This simple explanation was once an excellent resource for describing the legislative process. But its linear description doesn’t accurately illustrate a process frequently obstructed by partisanship.
In 2021, Politico Magazine made its own version of the video to try to reflect the more realistic, convoluted legislative process. It highlights some of the major roadblocks that prevent bill passage, from the filibuster in the Senate, which allows the minority to block consideration of bills unless 60% of senators vote to end debate, to the lack of leadership or majority support in either chamber or committees.
Single-party control of Congress and the White House usually spurs action, but it doesn’t open floodgates. Different political makeups may make things more difficult. For instance, if one party controls Congress while another controls the White House, a bill can make it out of Congress and get sent to the president, where it gets vetoed and sent back to Congress. Or if each party controls a chamber, which will happen in January, a bill sometimes never makes it to the president’s desk.
While the path is difficult, it’s not impossible. It just takes collaboration and persistence. Member engagement in grassroots activities is an essential component of NARFE’s long-term advocacy strategy to influence Congress’ decision-making. When NARFE members communicate with their lawmakers—through meetings, letters and phone calls—about an issue relating to federal and postal employees’ and retirees’ earned pay and benefits, they humanize the problem and spur legislators to act in their constituents’ best interest.
NARFE’s success with postal reform legislation is one example of triumph through collaboration and persistence. After years of tireless lobbying and member grassroots activities, Congress passed an amended version of H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, earlier this year. This law provides financial relief to the agency and preservation of the mail service we all rely on. It also addresses the key concerns NARFE advocates have been fighting for, such as preventing unintended increases to Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program premiums for federal employees and retirees, and preserving choice for current postal retirees and Medicare-eligible postal employees regarding whether to enroll in Medicare Part B.
We’ve even made progress on repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), with a congressional committee (the House Committee on Ways & Means) advancing the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82/S.1302, for the first time ever, as we continue to push for floor action.
It’s thanks to our members and their commitment to NARFE’s long-term advocacy goals that we have been able to see legislative successes on behalf of all federal employees and annuitants. Persistence pays off.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW NARFE: FEDERAL BENEFITS EXPERTS DEFENDS AND ENHANCES THE BENEFITS OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES, VISIT NARFE.ORG/JOIN
This column from the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) is part of the FEDforum, an initiative to unite voices across the federal community. The FEDforum is a space for federal employee and law enforcement groups to share their organizations’ initiatives and activities with the FEDagent audience.
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