NATCA Supported Legislation Passes Unanimously in U.S. House of Representatives

In July, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 521, the First Responder Fair Return for Employees on Their Initial Retirement Earned Act (“First Responder Fair RETIRE Act”). If passed in the Senate and signed by the president, this bill would ensure that certain federal employees, including air traffic controllers, who suffer a permanent injury or illness on the job, retain access to their enhanced retirement annuity in the same manner as if they had not been injured. H.R. 521, which was introduced by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), and Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), now moves to the Senate for consideration wherein an identical bill was introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.) in January 2021. NATCA carefully reviewed this bill when it was introduced and conveyed our support for its passage. NATCA thanks all of the members of Congress and their staffs for moving forward this important bipartisan legislation and strongly encourages its swift passage in the Senate.