NFFE Newsroom

Today, NFFE President Randy Erwin sent a letter to the Senate, urging lawmakers to introduce the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act:

Last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack responded to NFFE’s correspondence on necessary reforms for federal wildland firefighters. This summer, NFFE National President Randy Erwin sent four separate letters to Secretary Vilsack, emphasizing issues with firefighter pay, their occupational series, and housing for Forest Service employees.

Yesterday, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force released updated guidance regarding COVID policies for federal employees. Effective as of Monday, there are three actions agencies are directed to take by Monday, August 22 to align workplace policies with updated CDC guidance.

Two NFFE family members, Kaden Braaflat and Makayla Wiltse, have been awarded scholarships from the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA) as they head to college this Fall. The scholarship program is available to NFFE members as part of their union membership.

The Free College program is continuing for new and existing students who enrolled on or before July 18, 2022. Registration is currently suspended for future terms. 

Last month, the House of Representatives passed its fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with several NFFE priorities for federal employees. The legislation includes many wins regarding pay, benefits, and workplace policies affecting workers at the Department of Defense and defense-adjacent agencies.

Reminder: Until Oct. 31, 2022, federal student loan borrowers can get credit for payments that previously didn’t qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF).

Yesterday, the First Responder Fair RETIRE Act (S. 129) passed through the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) under unanimous consent without amendments. The bill, which passed in the House 417 to 0 in July, will likely head to the Senate floor this Fall.   

Do you have a federal student loan? If so, you may be able to benefit from temporary changes made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Just a few minutes of your time may save you thousands of dollars on your student loans.

Late Tuesday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the First Responder FAIR Retire Act (H.R. 521) 417 to 0 in a bipartisan display of support for injured federal first responders.