Thrift Savings Plan stumbles in March

Originally published Thrift Savings Plan stumbles in March on April 2, 2025 15:44 by https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-newscast/2025/04/thrift-savings-plan-stumbles-in-march/ at Federal News Network

• The Thrift Savings Plan stumbles in March. The only funds to post positive returns were the G, F and I funds. The government securities G fund posted the highest returns for the month, at 0.37%. The small cap stock index investment S fund posted the lowest return, at -7.93%. The Lifecycle funds all posted negative returns as well. Year to date, however, every fund in the TSP but the S fund is seeing positive returns. The I Fund and F Fund are among the biggest winners so far this year with return rates of over 4.6% and 2.7%, respectively.
• Senate Democrats are pushing the Trump administration for answers over the layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. In a letter sent to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., a group of nearly 40 lawmakers warned that the large-scale firings will harm the department’s ability to provide critical health services. The HHS layoffs are impacting thousands of employees at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among many other components. The Democrats are now calling on HHS to report how many firings have taken place, how many more are coming, and the impacts those terminations will have.
• At least seven agencies have brought back their “fork in the road” offers. Employees at the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy and Transportation, among several others, are seeing a renewed option to leave their jobs in exchange for a few months of pay and benefits. The second round of the deferred resignation program mirrors the initial offer the Office of Personnel Management made in January. The “fork in the road” relaunch comes as many agencies are beginning to conduct reductions in force (RIFs). The Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration have also restarted their deferred resignation programs. Most employees seeing the new offers have about a week to make a decision on whether to resign, before possibly facing a nonvoluntary workforce reduction.
• The Office of Strategic Capital has received over 200 applications totaling $8.9 billion in financing requests for its first-ever loan program. The demand significantly exceeds the program’s current lending capacity of $984 million. Last year, the OSC launched the program to help companies to procure, refurbish or install manufacturing equipment that supports the production of technologies DoD says are important to national security. The spike in demand highlights the urgent need for federal financing to grow domestic manufacturing of technologies critical to national and economic security.
• The Department of Health and Human Services is laying off thousands of employees, in some cases eliminating entire offices and programs. HHS employees shared photos of staff waiting in long lines to get into their buildings Tuesday morning. Many employees targeted by a Reduction in Force learned their Personal Identity Verification cards were deactivated when swiping into the building. HHS said it cut about 10,000 jobs. Employees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who received RIF notices were directed to send any employment discrimination complaints to an employee who died last November.
• All incentive bonuses paid to service members could be tax exempt under new legislation from Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.). If passed, the bill would ensure that when a service member receives an enlistment, reenlistment, retention and other type of bonuses they would not have to pay federal taxes. Only service members deployed in combat zones are exempt from tax on these bonuses, while all other service members are taxed at their marginal tax rate. And while most allowances such as Basic Allowance for Subsistence are tax exempt, other types of pay such as special pay and bonuses are taxable.
• The nominee for the Pentagon’s top acquisition job wants to take another look at the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. Michael Duffey said he’ll review CMMC if he’s confirmed to be under secretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment. In written responses to Senate lawmakers, Duffey said DoD needs to balance the need for cybersecurity in the defense industry with the burdens of complying with regulations. Pentagon officials had been hoping to finalize CMMC contracting requirements this year. The goal of the program is to ensure defense contractors are meeting cybersecurity standards.
• The Environmental Protection Agency is downsizing office space in the national capital region. The agency said it will move employees out of space in the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C. by this summer and relocate them to other nearby office buildings. The EPA said the decision will help save $18 million in annual leasing costs and will put those savings into upgrading remaining offices. The EPA is also shutting down the National Environmental Museum, a one-room space located within the agency’s headquarters.
• A top cybersecurity official at the Energy Department has stepped down. Puesh Kumar had served as director of the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response since 2021. Kumar is leaving government to work for American Electric Power, a major electric utility. During his time at Energy, Kumar led efforts to secure the power grid from cyber threats. CESER had also been working to establish new cybersecurity standards for emerging energy technologies.

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Originally published Thrift Savings Plan stumbles in March on April 2, 2025 15:44 by https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-newscast/2025/04/thrift-savings-plan-stumbles-in-march/ at Federal News Network

Originally published Federal News Network