Part of YGL’s mission and intent is to educate our members about matters impacting them in the federal government. Our prior blogs have talked at length about issues related to professional and personal management. In this blog, however, I want to explore some bills currently on the Hill that might be of interest to you and your colleagues.
Generating Opportunity by Forgiving Education Debt for Service Act (GO FEDS), H.R. 2363/S.1047
Got student loan debt? If you are the average undergraduate, you probably owe nearly $19,000 for your college education. While some agencies in the federal government currently offer loan repayment, this loan repayment must be included in taxable income. This bill would amend the tax code so that student loan repayments made on behalf of federal civilian employees and active military service members would be deemed non-taxable. That’s a little extra jingle in the pockets of money-strapped recent college graduates that could make the difference between noshing ramen noodles for dinner every night or deluxe dinning at Whole Foods.
The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2007, H.R. 3799
Now, many of you may not be thinking about babies anytime soon…but if you plan on having them anytime in the future, this is an important bill to consider. Under current federal law, there is NO MATERNITY LEAVE POLICY. Instead, employees can use 6-8 weeks of sick leave following the birth of their child. It takes employees 3 years on average to accrue 8 weeks of sick leave. Any additional time the employee wishes to take off has to come from annual or unpaid leave. Originally calling for 8 weeks of paid leave for new mothers (by birth or adoption), the bill was recently halved to 4 weeks out of concerns regarding cost.
United States Public Service Academy, H.R. 1671/S.960
This bill introduced last spring would establish a 5,000-person undergraduate university to attract a new generation of students to civil service employment. The new Academy, likened to the Naval and Air Force academies, would offer students a free education in exchange for at least five years of civil service at the local, state, or federal level. In order to attend, students at the academy would have to be nominated by members of Congress and would be required to study abroad and complete internships in the non-profit or military sector. There has been must dissent as to whether the Academy would be the best way to attract and retain young people, but I’ll let you all draw your own conclusions.
For those of you that remember the BEST Schoolhouse Rock EVER, check out “I’m Just a Bill” on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ.
Kate Walker
President, Young Government Leaders
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