NARFE's 2020 Grassroots Advocacy Successes

NARFE GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY

LEARN MORE about how you can take action to protect your earned pay and benefits by reviewing NARFE Grassroots materials at www.narfe.org/advocacy.

In celebration of NARFE’s legislative accomplishments in 2020, I want to thank you, the members, for your help in making them possible. You showed your ability to adapt in a year rife with many unknowns and chaos on Capitol Hill as Congress sorted through the unprecedented health and economic effects of the COVID-19 health emergency. We turned to virtual platforms that allowed us to communicate with lawmakers and conduct regular business. Doing so seemed precipitous at times, but, working together, we figured it out.

In response to the pandemic, NARFE shifted its advocacy to ensure that the concerns of our members were addressed in the economic relief packages and funding bills passed by Congress. We also continued to work on ongoing critical issues like cost-ofliving adjustments (COLAs) that better reflect the spending habits of seniors, and repeal or reform of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. You answered NARFE’s call to communicate your concerns and our position on these issues to lawmakers.

With Congress focused on the pandemic, some of NARFE’s top priorities were forced to wait. But NARFE-supported legislation nonetheless gained traction because of your steadfast advocacy efforts. Throughout the year, especially during Grassroots Advocacy Month in August, you were successful in convincing more lawmakers to join the list of cosponsors on critical pieces of legislation, setting us up for even greater success in the 117th Congress.

During Public Service Recognition Week in May, you helped the public recognize the vital work that public servants perform each day by sending hundreds of letters to the editors of local newspapers and engaging in community events. The timing of this spotlight could not have been more apt— despite the tens of thousands of federal employees infected with the coronavirus, many more continued to work on the front lines, keeping government operations churning even as they put themselves at risk.

NARFE’s 2020 grassroots activities report showed a robust year of engagement. More than 50,000 letters were sent to lawmakers through NARFE’s Legislative Action Center, and almost 20,000 phone calls were connected through NARFE’s advocacy call center. Additionally, you held meetings with dozens of members of Congress via Zoom or conference calls and wrote letters to community news outlets across the country, educating officials and the public about issues affecting the federal community. In addition to our veteran advocates, many first-time advocates engaged in grassroots campaigns last year.

NARFE has a collaborative strategy that includes lobbying, grasstops advocacy and mobilization of our entire membership to act (grassroots). As NARFE members, it’s crucial that you weigh in on the issues— as legislators’ constituents and members of both the federal community and NARFE, you hold unique power that influences policymakers.

We thank you for your advocacy and look forward to continuing to work together to influence Congress in 2021.

IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, NARFE SHIFTED ITS ADVOCACY TO ENSURE THAT THE CONCERNS OF OUR MEMBERS WERE ADDRESSED IN THE ECONOMIC RELIEF PACKAGES AND FUNDING BILLS PASSED BY CONGRESS.

—BY MARSHA PADILLA-GOAD, GRASSROOTS PROGRAM MANAGER

ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM P. 7

Investment Board (FRTIB), which oversees the TSP. At the hearing, the nominees committed to basing all decisions on a fiduciary standard. In an increasingly partisan and political environment, this fiduciary standard is crucial to TSP participants.

EXTENDING THE REHIRED FEDERAL RETIREES WAIVER AUTHORITY

• NARFE and its congressional allies worked to include language in the FY20 NDAA to extend agency authority, through 2024, to rehire federal retirees on a parttime basis without an offset to their annuities and without the need to obtain a waiver from OPM. This allows agencies to fill critical needs and create opportunities to train the next generation of public servants.

REPEALING THE CADILLAC TAX

• Attached to a year-end

FY20 government funding measure, the president signed into law a repeal of the

“Cadillac Tax”—a 40 percent excise tax on high-cost employer-provided health insurance benefits. • The tax, scheduled to go into effect in 2022, likely would have affected some Federal

Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plans, leading to higher premiums or benefit cuts and increased costsharing to avoid the tax. • NARFE joined coalition partners to support repeal of the tax.

SECURING EMERGENCY FUNDING FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE

• NARFE worked with its coalition partners to support including a provision in the

CARES Act authorizing up to $10 billion in borrowing authority for the U.S. Postal

Service (USPS). The COVID-19 relief package, passed at the end of 2020, converted the borrowing authority to a grant, meaning USPS will not have to pay back the amount. This helps ease the financial burden that the pandemic has placed on the Postal Service.

—JOHN HATTON, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF LEGISLATIVE AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS

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