NTEU: The Union for Federal Employees

NTEU Applauds Action on CBP Staffing

NTEU applauded action by a key House committee to approve an increase in funding that would permit CBP to hire some 1,600 new CBP Officers as requested, in part, in the White House fiscal 2014 budget.

“This move by the House Appropriations Committee is welcome recognition of the reality that CBP staffing has been and remains inadequate for its critical homeland security mission,” said President Kelley. “NTEU will work to see this funding decision implemented” so that CBP is adequately staffed at the nation’s 331 land, air and sea ports of entry. More

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding cuts in recent years, compounded by the severe impact of sequestration, will result Friday in the closing of all public IRS services.

“This is a very unfortunate state,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. Friday’s unpaid furlough day for IRS employees is the first of five such days planned by the IRS over the course of the summer.

President Kelley noted the IRS budget for the current fiscal year, slashed deeply by sequestration, is about $1 billion less than it was in fiscal 2010, resulting in 10,000 fewer employees. Overall, the IRS workforce has been cut by approximately 20 percent since 1995. In 1995, the IRS had a staff of 114,064 to administer the tax law, while today they have just 90,500 to administer a much more complicated tax code and growing number of taxpayers.

Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson identified chronic underfunding of the IRS as one of the top problems facing the agency, noting the reductions to the IRS budget over the past two years and additional cuts under sequestration.

Agency funding was reduced by $25 million under the fiscal 2011 continuing resolution; then came a cut of $305 million for fiscal 2012, followed by the impact of the $600 million sequestration cut in 2013. More

NTEU Members Can Help As Tornado Cleanup Begins

As residents of Moore, Okla., return to their ruined homes and other severe property damage, NTEU members can help federal employees harmed by the tornados with a contribution to the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA).

FEEA, which has a dedicated fund for natural disaster victums, has already received requests for assistance from employees whose homes were demolished. Your contribution will help ensure FEEA has the resources to provide emergency assistance to every deserving applicant who seeks help.

Federal employees who contribute today will triple their impact through a sponsorship from Blue Cross/Blue Shield and GEICO. Individual donations to FEEA will be tripled through the end of the month.

To donate or apply for assistance, visit www.FEEA.org.

Legislative Action

CALL ALERT: Contact your members of Congress in thier local district offices this week!

Ask your members of Congress to oppose legislation (H.R. 1780) to push federal employees out of the FEHBP and into the insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act.

Ask your members of Congress to oppose sequestration! Budget cuts of as much as 8 percent could hit your agency!

IRS SEQUESTER ALERT: Ask your members of Congress to end the harmful sequester cuts on the IRS.

Oppose any plans to change the current Consumer Price Index to a “chained CPI."

Visit NTEU's Legislative Action Center

NTEU Press Releases

Sequestration A Direct Link to Growing Pension Backlog, NTEU Leader Says (Read the statement)

NTEU Urges ‘No’ Vote On H.R. 807 (Read the letter)

NTEU Decries Sequester; Calls for Increased IRS Funding (Read the testimony)

NTEU Members Fill Federal Plaza At Rally to End Sequestration

NTEU Leader Supports Proposal Leading to Additional CBP Staffing (Read the testimony)

NTEU IRS Member Survey Confirms Serious Public Impacts from Budget Cuts

NTEU Strongly Opposes White House Call For Higher Retirement Contributions