After months of short-term continuing resolutions and two government shutdowns that disrupted the livelihoods of millions of federal workers and the programs they serve, federal employees can now breathe a sigh of relief: President Trump signed Congress's $1.3 trillion spending bill, funding the government through September 2018.
AFGE won several victories with the omnibus spending package, including:
The spending bill also pushed back against the administration's proposals to gut domestic programs like the Environmental Protection Agency.
The bill isn't without problems, though. It fails to make investments in the VA to adequately serve our veterans and fill the 49,000 vacancies plaguing the system. It provides $12.9 billion to the Social Security Administration (SSA), which is a $480 million increase over last year. In addition, Congress expressed its “concern” that SSA may be reducing resources for field offices, and directed SSA not to close field offices for now
With funding secured through the end of September, government agencies can get to work on making long-neglected investments in our people, our programs, and our nation’s future – something that’s impossible when funding is in question.
Our members came together at the union’s 41st National Convention to elect our top three national officers.
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Our union has faced life-threatening challenges before, but these threats are different. We have politicians in the White House, the House, and the Senate who are hell bent on wiping us out. We have never had our union contracts unilaterally annulled, our union volunteers kicked out of offices, our work fighting injustice severely restricted or denied. That’s why this national convention is extremely important. The stakes have never been higher – and that's why our 41st Triennial National Convention is so important.
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With all the new anti-federal employee laws, pending bills, and Executive Orders, you may feel federal employees are the sole target of politicians. In reality, these politicians have been coming after all working people for decades.
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