End Tuberculosis Now Act of 2023

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) AFGE lobbied on the following issues in the Defense Appropriation for Fiscal Year 2024: 1.Carrying forward section 8012 of Pub. L. 117-328, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 Division C (Dec. 29, 2022) without alteration in opposition to proposal of House Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee Chair Ken Calvert (R-CA41) to establish an arbitrary backfill ratio based on attrition to reduce Department of Defense (DoD) civilian workforce. 2.Adding a new provision that would require that contract services comply with budgetary requirements of section 4506 of title 10 to produce funding tables for contracted services in the same appropriations for which funding tables are currently displayed in the Defense Appropriation for DoD civilian employees. AFGE also provided questions for the record to House and Senate Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittees on total force management, DoD civilian hiring and talent management, and the Defense Health Activity reorganization. Lobbied on the following issues in the Financial Services General Government Appropriation for Fiscal Year 2024: 1.Carrying forward section 741 from of Pub. L. 117-328, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 Division E (Dec. 29, 2022) that would prohibit public-private competitions pursuant to OMB Circular A-76. 2.Modifying section 737 from Pub. L. 117-328, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Division E (Dec. 29, 2022) by raising the cap on Wage Grade pay increases so that hourly workers get the prevailing rates they are meant to receive while maintaining the floor so that every Wage Grade employee gets at least the average General Schedule raise in the locality where they work. Lobbied on the following issues in the H.R. 2670 Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Authorization in the House and the yet to be numbered Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act in the Senate: 1.Proposed markup amendment to strengthen total force management through amendment of section 129a of title 10. The proposal would amend subsection (b) to clarify the process for documenting DoD civilian workforce sizing decisions. The proposal further amends subsection (c) clarifying responsibilities of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness). The proposal amends subsection (d) to improve the completeness of the contractor inventory. The proposal would add a new subsection (f) that would require the Department of Defense to brief Congress in each budget submission with specific data analytics linking the DoD civilian workforce to readiness, lethality and stress on the force metrics. The proposal would add a new subsection (g) that would require service contracts be subjected to the same workload validation and prioritization requirements currently applied to military and civilian force structure; and finally, the proposal would add a new subsection (h) that would require funding tables for services contracts similar to the funding tables in each National Defense Authorization Act and Defense Appropriation for the DoD civilian workforce. 2.Proposed consideration of a floor amendment for H.R. 1322 and S. 1888, the Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act, currently re-introduced as H.R. 1322, after its markup in the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. 3.Proposed converting Department of Defense Non-Appropriated Fund Child Care workforce to appropriated fund and raising their pay; commented on a Department of the Army proposal that would allow Non-Appropriated Fund personnel to take on more than one job. 4.Proposed a scholarship program for the medical workforce similar to section 1535 of the H.R. 1776, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. 5.Lobbied for a repeal or waiver of section 865 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) pertaining to the presumptions on Research, Development, Test and Evaluation expenditures by the government versus the private sector for weapon systems relevant to negotiations for access to intellectual property. 6.Lobbied for repeal or waiver of the definition of commercial item in section 103 and 103a of title 41 for sole-source non-competitive procurements of weapon systems. 7.Lobbied for ceasing use of arbitrary time limits on depot carryover. 8.Lobbied for the Department of Defense to use Section 1108, Eligibility of Department of Defense employees in time-limited appointments to compete for permanent appointments to convert term appointments to permanent positions in the ammunition plants, Anniston Army depot and throughout the organic defense industrial base. 9.Lobbied for the Department of Defense to improve its compliance with sections 2464 (core logistics rule), 2466 (50-50 rule) and 2476 (capitol investment requirements for depots) of title 10. 10.Lobbied for the Department of Defense to support amendment of section 737 of the Financial Services General Government (FSGG) appropriation by raising the cap on Wage Grade pay while retaining the floor to improve recruitment and retention of Department of Defense civilian workforce within the organic industrial base. 11.Lobbied the Department of Defense and Congress to increase its use of the organic industrial base to address ammunition, missile, artillery, armored vehicle shortfalls in Ukraine and replenish shortages needed to deter China and other threats to national security. 12.Lobbied Congress and the Department of Defense for repeal or amendment of section 1595 of title 10 to afford faculty at the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) worker protections under title 5. Additionally lobbied to modify section 1595 of title 10 to require strategic human capital risk assessments by restricting the use of annual renewable term appointments for enduring functions of the Future Years Defense. Requested a study to determine whether DLIFLC was handicapped in the program and budget process by having the Army as its Executive Agent; proposed additional funds and Full Time Equivalents to retain Pashtu faculty to avoid under-execution. 13.Lobbied Congress against the DoD legislative proposal, Application of Acquisition Demonstration Project to Department of Air Force Employees Assigned to Support United States Strategic Command and United States Space Command Enterprises; further lobbied Congress to discontinue the Acquisition Demonstration pay-for-performance system. 14.Lobbied Congress to support the DoD legislative proposal for One Year Extension of Temporary Authority to Grant Allowances, Benefits and Gratuities to Civilian Personnel on Official Duty in a Combat Zone. 15.Lobbied Congress to support the DoD legislative proposal for One year extension of Authority to Waive Annual Limitation on Premium Pay and Aggregate Limitations on Pay for Federal Civilian Employees working Overseas. 16.Lobbied to place limitations on the DoD legislative proposal for Direct Hire Authority for Certain Personnel of the Department of Defense, amending section 9905 of title 5 related to (1) support operations positions, and (2) positions in support of public safety, law enforcement, and first response. 17.Lobbied against the DoD legislative proposal, Improvements to Use of Cyber and Information Technology Workforce for Enterprise Information Technology, unless conditions laid out in the Strengthening Force Management amendment proposal are enacted and implemented. 18.Lobbied in support of the DoD legislative proposal, Removal of Washington Headquarters Service Direct Support From Personnel Limitation on the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 19.Lobbied to retain limitations on the DoD legislative proposal for Consolidation of Direct Hire Authorities for Candidates with Specified Degrees at Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories. 20.Lobbied on the DoD legislative proposal for Authority to Provide for Increased Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay for Civilian Employees of the Department of Defense. 21.Provided general arguments against direct hire authority proposals of the Department of Defense and with respect to the Cyber Excepted Service. 22.Lobbied against an Air Force proposal to provide authority for Department of Defense Service Secretaries to establish classification, qualification and pay setting standards for occupations designated as Mission Critical Occupational Series. 23.Lobbied the Defense Business Board on civilian talent management and on behalf of AFGE Local 1263 relating to faculty at Defense Language Institute. 24.Commented on a proposed amendment from Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) that would establish a temporary Cyber Reserve pilot program, limited to 50 personnel, to urge public disclosure of conflicts of interest. Also expressed concerns with an alternative Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) markup amendment that would establish a permanent government-wide Digital Reserve run out of the General Services Administration. 25.Lobbied against privatization of Navy and Air Force lodging. 26.Lobbied against renewal of a proposal to restrict Military Exchanges from selling goods with any component parts manufactured in China. 27.Lobbied for supplementing the Non-Appropriated Fund workforce with Appropriated Funds in response to inflationary impacts. 28.Lobbied against amendment that would limit the investments in the Thrift Savings Plan that would limit investment in issuers where 50 percent or more of their revenue came from countries listed as National Security risks. 29.Lobbied against amendment that targeted the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director for reduction through a manpower study targeting the DoD civilian workforce, 30.Lobbied against amendment that proposed eliminating the Director Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. 31.Lobbied against Navy proposals to privatize Department of Defense civilian employees currently supporting Program Executive Officer for Nuclear-Powered General Purpose Attack Submarines program. In addition, AFGE legislative staff: 1.Provided questions for the record to Senate Armed Services Committee and House Armed Services Committee hearings related to the Cyber Excepted Service, Artificial Intelligence, Commercial Technologies, Contract Services, Total Force Management, Talent Management, Hiring Reform, Competitive Service, Stealth Privatization, Child Development Centers and Child Care Workforce, Defense Health Activity Reorganization, and the 4th Estate. 2.Provided input to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) discrediting a 2013 McKinsey Study claiming $125 billion in savings from cutting 4th estate DoD organizations that was resurrected during an April 26, 2023, House hearing. GAO will be responding to question for the record on that study. 3.Provided input to the Congressional Budget Office concerning covering all services contracts in Future Years Defense Program analyses. AFGE sent letters to Congress and the Department of Defense opposing proposed DoD civilian workforce reductions, improving civilian talent management, opposing improper use of term and temporary hiring, and supporting the organic industrial base.