Government affairs
Legislative Updates
Today, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced H.R. 4806, the Federal Employee Short-Term Disability Insurance Act of 2018, a bill which would provide short-term disability insurance program for Federal employees for disabilities that are not work-related, and for other purposes.
Del. Norton previously introduced similar bills in the 113th and 114th Congresses, but each failed to make it out of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. While a similar fate is likely for this bill, it appears before a different Chair than previous Congresses, and it remains to be seen if Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) would be willing to consider it.
“The majority of disabilities are not caused by major accidents, but by injuries or illnesses, such as back injuries or cancer, according to the Council for Disability Awareness,” said Norton. “There is every reason to allow our federal employees to take advantage of the federal government’s group rates to obtain the most reasonable price if they choose to purchase short-term disability coverage on their own at no cost to the federal government.”