Federal Employees

Rebecca Shabad Furor built Friday among members of Congress, family members and pundits following news that one of President Trump's communications aides, Kelly Sadler, mockingly referenced Sen. John McCain’s brain cancer diagnosis during a White House meeting Thursday. “There are no words,” tweeted Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., on Friday, reacting to a report about her comments. During a White House meeting Thursday, Sadler reacted to McCain's announcement that he opposes Gina Haspel’s nomination ... Read more

Faiz Siddiqui Metro crews copied and pasted language from prior years’ structural inspection reports for the Rhode Island Avenue station and in other instances skipped hard-to-reach areas, culminating in a steel beam and concrete chunks falling from the ceiling in 2016, the agency’s inspector general concluded in a report released Thursday. No one was injured, but the Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland stations will be shut down for 45 days starting July 21 to permanently address the structural ... Read more

Steve Burns The announcement of a new Metro shutdown, planned for 98 days over the summer of 2019, is bringing at least one ardent Metro supporter to his wits’ end. “We were kind of promised that the SafeTrack shutdowns would be a one-time thing,” Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly told WMAL. “I think it’s very difficult, with a straight face, to make the case to the public that we’re ‘Back to Good’ when we really are back to shutdowns.” Connolly said he would like to see a full accounting of the dec... Read more

Representatives Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Gerald Connolly (VA-11) introduced a bipartisan resolution designating May 6-12, 2018 as Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW). H.Res.867 commends federal, state, county and local government employees, as well as members of the uniformed services, for their tireless and dedicated efforts, and details the significant contributions that public servants have made to the United States. It celebrates the millions of innovative, highly-skilled men and women who... Read more

Faiz Siddique There will be no service on Metro’s Blue and Yellow lines south of Reagan National Airport for 98 days beginning in May 2019, as the transit agency embarks on a platform rebuilding project spanning six stations, part of an effort to refurbish 20 station platforms over three years. The work, which will at times target the Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Orange lines, will focus on rebuilding crumbling station platforms that the agency says pose a safety risk to riders, and will mark M... Read more

Nicole Ogrysko The Office of Personnel Management has submitted several proposals that would significantly change the existing retirement system for current and future federal employees. In a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), OPM Director Jeff Pon outlined four major recommendations. Ultimately, the proposals would require current and future federal employees to contribute more to their retirement. The legislative proposals would have the deepest impacts on Federal Employees’ Retireme... Read more

Today, 149 members sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan requesting information on his decision to remove the House chaplain. The letter was led by Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Walter Jones (R-NC), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH). “We are seeking additional information regarding your decision to request the resignation of Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, the 60th Chaplain of the House of Representatives,” the members wrote. “The sensitive nature of this situation requires a d... Read more

Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) today sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking an investigation of EPA Senior Adviser to the Administrator Albert Kelly. Kelly was appointed to oversee the Superfund program without qualifications in environmental protection. It has recently been reported that Kelly had previously provided EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt a series of bank loans for business deals in Oklahoma and was perman... Read more

Today, all Democratic Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter asking Chairman Trey Gowdy to issue a subpoena to compel the Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau to produce documents they have been withholding for nearly three weeks relating to concerns raised by the Census Bureau itself about the Trump Administration’s sudden decision to add an untested new citizenship question to the 2020 census. The Democrats asked Gowdy to issue the subpoena this... Read more

Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Representatives Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) sent a letter to Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) transmitting new documents that they have obtained regarding the security sweep of his office performed prior to construction. The lawmake... Read more