A final rule released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on June 8, 2021 would make it easier for federal agencies to bring back former employees at a higher pay scale. Prior to the release of this rule, agencies could bring back ex-employees, but at the same pay grade they were receiving before they left federal service.

The White House released President Joe Biden’s full fiscal year 2022 budget on Friday. The budget proposal includes a pay raise for federal employees and pledges to focus on strengthening the workforce.

The Postal Service Reform Act of 2021, introduced in the House by House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY), could raise health insurance costs for both employees and retirees in the federal workforce.

President Joe Biden recently released a $6 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2022. The budget proposal would raise total spending to $8.2 trillion by 2031. Non-defense discretionary spending would be increased by 16 percent, while defense spending would increase by 1.7 percent.

The House Committee on Appropriations introduced a $1.9 billion proposal to increase security measures at the Capitol and cover overtime and hazard pay for officers who defended the Capitol during the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The bill was approved in the House with a 213-212 vote and will now move to the Senate.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a tip sheet for human resources (HR) staff at federal agencies as employees prepare to return to the office following the pandemic. The release of the tip sheet coincides with May being Mental Health Awareness Month.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reshaping its workforce training and hiring strategy to better respond to global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. At the DHS Centers of Excellence Summit, held at George Mason University, department leaders said they were looking to hire and retain a workforce that can adapt to change in a dynamic environment.

After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in new, updated guidance that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks in both indoor and outdoor settings, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent agencies an email lifting the mask mandate in federal facilities while retaining other pandemic protocols.

A joint report by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) details that as cases of domestic terrorism continue in the United States, lone offenders pose the greatest threat to national security.

During National Police Week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed several law enforcement related bills. The full Senate also passed a resolution recognizing law enforcement and fallen officers introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and cosponsored by all 99 other U.S. Senators. In both the House of Representatives and the Senate, law enforcement legislation was also introduced.

This week, from May 9-May 15, 2021, is National Police Week. National Police Week, along with Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is on May 15th every year, was started by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 and honors law enforcement officers who lost their lives or were disabled in the line of duty. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on May 7, 2021 regarding Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week 2021.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday to improve national cybersecurity in an effort to combat future cyberattacks. The order follows the SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange cyberattacks impacting federal agencies as well as the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that caused states of emergency in several states.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced the creation of a new Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) that aims to combat terrorism and other forms of targeted violence.

In a House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Marine Security hearing on May 4, Democrats urged their colleagues to support legislation that would extend Title 5 employment protections to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners.

The Biden administration is launching a new inter-agency operation, dubbed Operation Sentinel, targeting transnational criminal human smuggling organizations against the backdrop of Border Patrol locating 250 migrants who died during their journey in Fiscal Year 2020.

In a May 5, 2021 letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, and Representative John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, expressed their concerns with the increased number of targeted attacks on federal law enforcement officers and federal facilities.

Today, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance to agencies on COVID-19 Emergency Paid Leave, which was authorized in March when Congress approved the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

All federal employee official travel, including for those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, remains limited to travel that is mission critical, according to recently updated Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance.

Last week, a bipartisan group of Senators and House members unveiled The Bipartisan Border Solutions Act intended to “respond to the surge in migrants coming across our southern border.” The bill comes after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended more than 170,000 people at the U.S.-Mexico border in March, the highest number in at least 15 years.

U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton testified before the House Administration Committee on the IG’s 104 page report, “Review of the Events Surrounding the January 6, 2021, Takeover of the U.S. Capitol.”