Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a bill that provides fairness to our Federal employees who work day in and day out to help the government function and serve the public. The importance of their role has become even more apparent as our Nation continues to suffer in the midst of a global pandemic.

In a normal year, the average Federal employee can accumulate up to 240 hours, or 30 days, of annual leave. At the end of the year, if a Federal employee has more than 240 hours, they either have to use the amount of leave over 240 hours or lose it. These excess hours are commonly known as ``use or lose'' leave.

But these are not normal times. We are in the middle of a global pandemic and we have a President who lies about how dangerous this virus is and does little to address the severity of it. We see the results, nearly seven million people in the United States have contracted COVID-19 and more than 200,000 have died. The United States now has the unenviable distinction of being the Nation with the most COVID-19 cases and the most deaths.

Through all of this, people continue to go to work and try to carry out their duties the best they can. In the Federal Government, there are National Institutes of Health researchers, Internal Revenue Service workers, Social Security staff, law enforcement officers, and others, working each day to provide government services to the American public. Some are not able to take leave because their job is a critical part of the response to the pandemic. Others are simply unable to take leave because they are limiting their exposure to the virus or are following state and local rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

To try and address this issue, on August 10, the Office of Personnel Management published an interim rule that recognizes the COVID-19 pandemic as an ``exigency of the public business'' and allows some federal employees to carry over use or lose leave. However, this policy is limited to employees who are designated as essential by their agency.

This contrasts with the Department of Defense which issued a memo on April 16, allowing all active-duty service members to accrue leave in excess of their 60-day limitation, regardless of job responsibilities or duty station. All Federal employees contribute to their agency's mission, regardless of the job they hold. No one should lose earned annual leave due to this pandemic.

To resolve this inequity, I am introducing the Federal Worker Leave Fairness Act which will allow all Federal employees to carry over annual leave above the 240 hour cap, regardless of whether they are considered essential. My bill also resolves this issue for future pandemics declared a national public health emergency by allowing ``use or lose'' leave to be rolled over during the emergency declaration.

This legislation is being introduced in the House by Representatives Derek Kilmer and Jennifer Wexton and is supported by the National Treasury Employees Union; American Federation of Government Employees; Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; National Federation of Federal Employees; Federal Managers Association; FAA Managers Association; National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association; and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

This bill is a small act of fairness in an otherwise stressful and overwhelming year. I urge my colleagues to support this bill in recognition of our hardworking federal workforce.

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