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.

According to a Department of Justice press release dated May 5, 2021, two former city officials in Calexico, California were sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes in return for a city permit to open a cannabis dispensary. The defendants were caught by an undercover FBI agent.

WAEPA has been serving Civilian Federal Employees and their families with affordable group term life insurance for over 75 years. To continue making your needs our mission, we are pleased to provide a new product, Group Short-Term Disability Insurance,* which provides income replacement to federal employees who are temporarily out of work due to a covered short-term illness or injury.

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.

This week, the Supreme Court agreed to review whether the Second Amendment protects the right to carry a gun outside of the home without a license. This marks the first time in over a decade that the Court will weigh in on the Second Amendment.

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.

According to a Department of Justice press release from April 28, 2021, a North Carolina man pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. Raul Ayala Jr., 72, admitted to molesting minors going as far back as the 1970s. Following this admission, police executed a warrant to search Ayala’s home, where they found child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on multiple digital devices.

Learn ways to protect yourself if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation.

According to Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force, when someone takes their own life, “It is estimated over 115 people are impacted, with 1 in 5 reporting this experience had a devasting impact or caused a major life interruption.” The impact will be felt throughout the entire agency, community, and the family. For these reasons, having an established policy on navigating the aftermath of a suicide is essential. Agencies often struggle with supporting the families and co-workers after suffering a suicide.

On June 25, 2018, Illinois State Trooper Clayton Chapman was on highway patrol duties and received a message from Deputy Sheriff Derek Suttles about a hatchback with a California license plate on Interstate 72. Deputy Suttles reported to Trooper Chapman that the vehicle was going approximately 20 mph under the speed limit, and found it suspicious.

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.”

Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) is coming up from May 2 to 8, 2021. The theme is #GovPossible to highlight the work of public servants across all levels of government.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is making changes to the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS) based on provisions in the FY 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), as well as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2021-15.

According to a Department of Justice press release dated April 20, 2021, a 51-year old man from Dublin, Ohio, Yu Zhou, was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing scientific trade secrets related to exosomes and exosome isolation from Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute for personal financial gain and conspiring to commit wire fraud.

26 years after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the U.S. Secret Service commemorates the lives of those agents and employees who were lost during the attack.

Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) has grown from serving 35,000 survivors to over 55,000 in less than a decade. Statistics have shown an average of 140-160 officers dying in the line of duty each year, which, multiplied by their surviving family members and co-workers, explains why the membership has grown so fast. However, in the past two years, that average is changing, and it’s not in the declining direction, unfortunately.

Please join us on April 27th for a unique event open to all federal employees and those working in the federal space. The Senior Executives Association and the Treasury Executive Institute have partnered with the Arbinger Institute to provide an insightful 90-minute discussion around leading virtually through the lens of an outward mindset.

On April 9, 2021, President Joe Biden released his administration’s FY 2022 budget proposal, which included the smallest funding increases for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice.