Lawmakers have been pushing forward various bills over the last several weeks, all aiming to reshape different aspects of federal employment and benefits.

Most recently, proposals on Capitol Hill have sought to address issues such as workplace health and safety, employee benefits, cybersecurity protections and hiring practices.

Heading into the fall, here are just a handful of the current efforts in Congress that may bring changes for federal employees.

Democrats, for one, are seeking to boost protections for federal employees. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) introduced a bill earlier this month, called the RECOVER PII Act. It would offer lifetime identity protection coverage to federal employees and contractors who were impacted by the 2015 data breach at the Office of Personnel Management.

A major cybersecurity incident in 2015 at OPM compromised personal information of about 22 million individuals who were associated with the federal government.

Although victims of the data breach, at the time, were afforded 10 years of identity protection coverage from Congress, that benefit is set to expire on Sept. 30 this year. The new legislation seeks to extend coverage to qualifying individuals for life.

“More than 10 years after the OPM data breach exposed the personal information of millions of federal employees, the threat remains,” Warner said. “We have a responsibility to stand by the federal workers who were put at risk through no fault of their own.”

Federal employees also have the potential to see greater paid leave benefits under the recently introduced Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act.

Currently, eligible federal employees get 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) — a benefit that is also available to private sector employees.

Although federal employees have access to paid parental leave due to a 2019 law, family and medical leave remains unpaid time off.

The new legislation, led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), would give federal employees 12 weeks of paid leave for all purposes that are covered by FMLA. That includes for a serious health condition of the employee or an immediate family member.

“Right now, our laws are forcing federal workers to make the impossible choice between caring for their families and keeping their jobs,” Schatz said.

A separate bipartisan bill in the House targets instances of poor air quality across the federal real estate portfolio. In July, lawmakers introduced the Federal Facilities Indoor Air Quality Assessment Act.

If enacted, the legislation would compel the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive review of air quality across all federal facilities and government property.

“Federal employees should never have to risk their health by showing up to work, yet General Services Administration’s own watchdog has identified persistent ventilation problems in federal buildings,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), who introduced the legislation. “Our bipartisan bill will uncover these deficiencies and require agencies to develop concrete plans to fix them.”

Another bipartisan bill to advance skills-based hiring in government has also been making significant progress this year.

The Senate version of the Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act advanced unanimously out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee earlier this month. That comes after the full House passed the original bill earlier this year.

If enacted, the legislation would prohibit agencies, in most cases, from setting minimum education requirements during federal contract solicitations. Exceptions would only apply if a contracting officer submitted a justification successfully explaining why degree requirements are necessary in certain circumstances.

“For too long, the federal government has put a diploma ahead of ability. It has shut out millions of qualified Americans before they ever got a fair shot. Our bill ends this,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), the bill’s original House co-sponsor. “A unanimous vote out of committee speaks for itself. This is not a Republican issue. This is not a Democrat issue. This is an American issue. Now it’s time for the full Senate to pass it and get it to the president’s desk.”

At the same time, Republicans are pushing for greater accountability of the federal workforce. In late July, GOP lawmakers reintroduced legislation that would bar individuals from working in government if they refuse to answer questions during congressional investigations, or if they are convicted of perjury.

The bicameral bill was introduced by Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).

The Congress members said they reintroduced their legislation following a Republican-led committee hearing in July with former federal health official Anthony Fauci, who repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight, and federal employees have a duty to tell the truth. Full stop,” McCormick said. “If someone lies under oath or refuses to cooperate with a lawful investigation, there should be consequences.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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