Dear AFSA Member,

We want to continue to provide you with AFSA’s summary take on issues of direct concern or interest to our members. This update focuses on federal benefits proposals and the FY2012 international affairs budget.  Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with us if you have questions or comments.

Federal Benefits Update

It remains difficult to predict what federal benefits proposals will survive and in what form in Congress. We may know more when and if the Blair House Group - a bipartisan selection of members of Congress under the leadership of Vice President Biden - reaches an agreement.  At this point it appears likely that there will be increased federal employee annuity contributions and health premiums which translate to decreased take-home pay for all federal workers.

The Blair House meetings have produced a tentative $200 billion in spending cuts.  Now the negotiators will turn their attention to the more expensive and politically sensitive entitlements, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

AFSA is working with a group of 21 other federal and postal unions to follow what is happening on the Hill as closely as we can.  We have jointly written to House and Senate Committees and to Blair House participants expressing our opposition to unfair cuts in federal benefits. (You can read these letters on the retiree page on our Web site.)

To learn more and to take action to support your Federal Benefits please click here.

State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Update

Despite very gloomy predictions, the House appropriators have not hit the Foreign Affairs account as hard as feared – about 2% below FY11 levels but closer to 18% below the President’s 2012 budget request.  In AFSA’s view, the proposal to require federal employees to pay a larger share into their pension funds amounts to a 5-7% cut in pay. In sum, the trend is still negative.

AFSA opposes proposals to increase employee contributions to the retirement system and Federal Employees Health Benefit program.  Over the past few weeks, we have sent out targeted meeting requests to appropriators in both chambers.  We will continue our efforts to show that the Foreign Service provides an excellent Return on Investment to the American public and plays an important role in National Security.

You can find a more detailed analysis of the FY 2012 Budget proposals on our website.

Thank you,

Susan R. Johnson

President