Lame Ducks, Angry Ducks

If the Democrats win one or both houses of Congress, Republicans will be spitting mad and could get up to all sort of mischief while they still control the House and Senate.

If Republicans hold on to one or both houses of Congress, Democrats will be spitting mad and could get up to all sort of mischief in preparation for another 2 years of being in the minority.

Either way you, as federal/postal workers and as American citizens-taxpayers, probably won't enjoy the final session of this Congress. Even if the plight of ex-Rep. Foley (R-Fla.) fades from view, if North Korea decides to turn nukes into plowshares (or Hyundais) and gasoline prices continue to drop, there will be another, maybe several, crises de jour.

What is not going to happen is a government shutdown. Most experts agree that, much as they loath each other (and they apparently really do,) the two political parties will either pass appropriations bills for the 2007 fiscal year or enact continuing resolutions that will enable agencies to keep doing their jobs and meeting their payrolls.

Congress will return the same day that the federal health insurance open season begins. Members who will return to the next Congress, or who are retiring, will be able to keep their health insurance. Like you, they can pick from more than a dozen plans and enjoy (if they pick the right plans) little or no change in premiums.

Because of major family health problems, several members of Congress had to be reelected to be able to remain in the FEHBP. The same applies to a number of congressional staffers for whom FEHBP coverage is a must, and whose jobs and eligibility depend on their bosses winning reelection.

The January federal pay raise will either be based on a 2.2 percent national adjustment (favored by the President) or the 2.7 percent that Congress will impose if it passes a key appropriations bill.

Whether the raise is 2.2 percent or 2.7 percent, federal and military people are very likely to get the same amount. But once locality pay is figured in (this is for civilians only) the raises in some cities will be much higher than in others. So even the "either 2.2 or 2.7" percent increases, as a final figure, depend on locality pay. And it could be close to the end of the year before you know the amount of your January, 2007 raise. The good news is that it will be effective on time (the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2007) no matter when it is finally approved.

Happy Investment News

For the 12 month period ending September 30th, the international stock index fund, the I-fund, returned 19.23 percent; the small cap S-fund return was 8.77 percent; the large cap C-fund returned 10.78 percent; and the treasury securities G-fund outperformed the bond-indexed F fund. The G-returned 4.90 percent compared to 3.68 percent for the F-fund. Numbers can be found on tsp.gov, check under "current monthly rates."

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com