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Legislation Report

April 2010

Bipartisan TSP Legislation Introduced: On March 17th, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced bipartisan legislation that will allow federal employees to invest the cash value of unused annual leave in their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account. “The Federal Employees and Uniformed Services Retirement Equity Act of 2010”, H.R. 4865, will give federal employees a benefit similar to one extended to private sector employees through a regulatory change announced by President Obama in September 2009. In a letter of support to Reps. Lynch and Chaffetz, NARFE President Margaret L. Baptiste said as a matter of equity, NARFE believes that federal workers should have this choice if it is offered to private-sector employees.

HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION: Sunday March 21, 2010in an historic climax to a bitter year-long political battle, the House of Representatives Sunday voted to approve landmark legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system. After a tense weekend of deal making, Democrats came up with 219 votes for the legislation, three more than the 216 needed for passage. All House Republicans voted against the bill as did 34 Democrats. The House first passed the bill already passed by the Senate that President Obama was expected to sign into law shortly. Changes sought by House Democrats were incorporated into a second measure, called a reconciliation bill that could go to the Senate as early as Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid assured House Democrats this weekend that he has the votes to pass it. The sweeping legislation represents an achievement for Obama that previous presidents–Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton–have sought for nearly a century. "We proved we are still a people capable of doing big things," said President Obama in a televised address from the White House just minutes after the last House vote. And he said, "Tonight we answered the call of history." Excerpts From the AARP (President Obama signed the bill into law on Tuesday March 23, 2010)
NARFE’s evaluation of this legislation and all other health care reform legislation is guided by our Legislative Program for the 111th Congress (2009-2010), particularly the following three key planks.
* “NARFE supports access to comprehensive health care for all Americans.”
* “NARFE supports protecting the nation’s most efficiently administered and cost-effective employer-sponsored health insurance program, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), for federal employees and annuitants.”
* “NARFE opposes broadening participation in the FEHBP, unless separate risk pools are created.”

        Beatrice Bertwell

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