THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, (length about seven minutes), is a weekdaily, high-information compilation of nine 40-second news stories and news packages, generated by ...
All agencies are under a 90-day hiring freeze with the exception of military personnel of the armed forces or of positions related to immigration enforcement, national security or public
safety. The freeze will last until OMB, OPM and the new advisory board Department of Government Efficiency submit a plan to the White House to reduce the size of the government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition. The freeze would lift for all agencies except for the IRS, which would remain unable to hire new employees until the Treasury Secretary, OMB and DOGE determine it's of national interest to lift the freeze. The new hiring
freeze is nearly identical to an executive action Trump took on his first day in office in 2017. The 2017 hiring freeze lasted for nearly three months.
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7:53
Democrats introduce FAIR Act to raise federal pay in 2026
Civilian federal employees just got a 2 percent average raise added to their pay checks. But Democrats are already looking ahead to next year’s federal pay raise. The FAIR Act would give federal employees a 4-point-3 percent pay increase beginning next January. Congressman Gerry Connolly and Senator Brian Schatz have reintroduced the bill each year for about the last decade. But beyond its introduction, the legislation has never seen action in Congress. Still, Democrats say the larger raise in the FAIR Act would help federal pay keep pace with rising costs of living.
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6:14
Comer introduces SHOW UP Act to get federal workers back to the office
Federal employees are facing a familiar bill in a long line of legislation aiming to cut telework options. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer reintroduced the SHOW UP Act this week. The bill would return federal employees to the work arrangements they had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In practice, it would largely scale back federal telework. The House passed the bill in the last Congress. But the Senate did not take any action on the companion legislation. During a hearing this week, Comer said there’s “no reason” feds shouldn’t go
back to pre-pandemic telework levels.
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7:58
State Dept reports a record number of Americans now have passports
A record number of Americans hold a U-S passport. The State Department says there are more than 170 million in circulation and that it issued or renewed 90 million passports during the Biden administration. Applicants saw long wait times to apply or renew their passports at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the department says it’s gotten processing times down to four-to-six weeks.
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6:15
OPM finalizing rules to bring blue collar wages in line with General Schedule
The Office of Personnel Management is finalizing rules meant to bring the wages of blue collar feds more geographically in line with their General Schedule counterparts. Under the changes set to take effect in October, OPM says nearly 15-thousand workers will see higher wages. Around 500, meanwhile will get lower pay under the new wage area boundaries. Most of the affected employees work for the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
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THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, (length about seven minutes), is a weekdaily, high-information compilation of nine 40-second news stories and news packages, generated by the non-partisan, non-political, private-sector team of reporters at Federal News Network. Federal News Radio Producer/Newscaster Peter Musurlian assembles and reads the stories on the THE FEDERAL DRIVE with TOM TEMIN, the weekday morning-drive program, heard from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET) on the Federal News Network app (and website), on any smart speaker, and on WFED 1500 AM, a 50,000-watt 'Class A' powerhouse radio station in the nation's capital. The podcast is most popular with FNN's audience of highly educated listeners, who conveniently access THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, 24/7, on any podcast platform . Listen to it (as just mentioned) or read the stories each weekday morning at FederalNewsNetwork.com, where the news items contain hyperlinks for those who want more information on a given story.
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