IFPTE Applauds Bipartisan Passage of Defense Authorization Bill with Provisions Supporting Federal and Defense Industry Workers
In response to the House and Senate’s passage of the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), IFPTE applauded the inclusion of pro-worker provisions that the union supported and requested Congress include in the bill. IFPTE also recognizes that Congress, through a bipartisan NDAA conference report that reconciles differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, removed some of the harmful provisions from the final bill.
The Senate passed the legislation with xx votes in favor and the House passed it by a margin of — to —-.
Among the provisions in the final NDAA for FY 24 that IFPTE supports are:
A “GAO Study on Health Care Available to Certain Individuals Supporting the Missions of United States Forces Japan and Joint Region Marianas.” IFPTE members are among the 10,000 DoD employees and their families stationed in Japan who are acutely impacted by this dramatic change in healthcare access that occurred over one year ago. These DoD employees and their families who are stationed with them lost timely access to on-base routine, chronic, and necessary healthcare and prescription drug coverage through no fault of their own. The language in this section calls for the GAO to study and recommend policy and legislative remedies to make sure that DoD employees and their dependents have quality healthcare services and timely access to care.
An “Authorization to Pay a Living Quarters Allowance for Department of the Navy Civilian Employees Assigned to Permanent Duty in Guam for Performing Work, or Supporting Work Being Performed, Aboard or Dockside, of U.S. Naval Vessels.” This section will help Navy employees working in Guam to find suitable housing and afford the high cost of housing and utilities on the island.
An “Enhanced Domestic Content Requirement for Major Defense Acquisition Programs.” This provision supports the U.S. defense industrial base and critical manufacturing capabilities by increasing domestic content requirements for defense acquisition to 65% by 2024 and 75% by 2029. In light of Congress’ support for investing in critical industries, advanced manufacturing, and the workforce needed to support reinvestment in good jobs that support our national defense, this commonsense provision makes sure that defense spending supports the defense industrial base and our national interests.
A provision on “Including Military Service in Determining Family and Medical Leave Eligibility for Federal Employees.” This provision allows federal employees who have completed 12 months of honorable active service to carry over those 12 months of service for family and medical leave eligibility. This provision supports the recruitment of our nation’s veterans into the federal civil service. It eases veterans' transition into the workforce, which is a win-win for both veterans and service members as well as federal agencies that will benefit from hiring veterans who bring with them skills, leadership, and commitment to service.
Restoring “Flexibility and Funding for the World Trade Center Health Program.” We applaud the inclusion of language and authorization to reestablish the $676 million in funding for the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP). This resolves the funding shortfall for the treatment and monitoring of 9/11 first responders and survivors who were exposed to toxins and may suffer from 9/11-related illnesses.
We also applaud Congress for not including a provision in the House-passed NDAA titled “Authority to Establish Excepted Service Positions for Army Law Enforcement Activities,” which would have removed competitive hiring and civil service protections by allowing the Secretary of Defense to establish excepted service positions for Army law enforcement.
IFPTE’s letter to Congress asking for support for the NDAA also notes that the final bill regrettably omits key priorities and includes provisions that IFPTE does not support. In particular, IFFPTE’s letter highlights the omission of language that would allow “veterans to receive concurrent retirement pay and disability compensation at a time when Congress overwhelmingly supports standalone legislation to do just that in the Richard Star Act (H.R1282, S.344).” IFPTE also highlights that the NDAA includes several provisions “that expand direct hiring authorities for DoD civilian personnel,” and that “[o]verreliance and misuse of direct hiring authorities, along with term and temporary hiring, are short-term approaches that have created exceptions to fair, objective, and open competitions for federal hiring and circumvented consideration of internal candidates, overriding Veterans Preference, and excluding qualified candidates that would otherwise be hired under competitive hiring.” Finally, IFPTE’s letter notes the provision to cap pay for Department of Defense [DoD] employees engaged in workforce and military diversity policy or training at GS-10 pay levels as harming “the DoD’s efforts to recruit and retain the best civilian workers and support high-performing workplaces.”