Eye On Washington with Jessica Klement

On this month’s episode of Eye on Washington , Steve Lenkart, with the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and John Hatton, with the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) , join host Jessica Klement to review the first half of 2025 and discuss what’s in store for the federal community for the rest of year. Federal employees and retirees escaped rec...

On this episode of Eye on Washington , host Jessica Klement welcomes Rob Shriver, former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management and currently the managing director of Civil Service Strong at Democracy Forward . In his role, Shriver is committed to ensuring the American people understand the role of government in their lives while Democracy Forward pursues several legal challenges to...

On this month’s episode of Eye on Washington , Federal News Network reporter Drew Friedman once again joins host Jessica Klement. As the federal workforce deals with near-constant uncertainty, Friedman has her finger on the pulse of the changes and provided an overview of the latest in RIFs, return to office mandates, collective bargaining agreements and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c...

On the February episode of Eye on Washington , Mark Keen, financial advisor and partner with the wealth management firm Keen & Pocock , joins host Jessica Klement. Keen writes the managing money column for the monthly NARFE magazine, and provides NARFE members with regular webinars to help them achieve a financially security future. The duo looked at the state of theThrift Savings Plan, if kee...

The first show of 2025 welcomes Dan Blair, consultant, former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, and overall federal workforce expert. Host Jessica Klement and Blair dissect the executive orders from the Trump administration to date and their effect on the federal workforce, including the Administration’s latest “fork in the road” email encouraging resignations if employees are...

On this final episode of 2024, Eye on Washington host Jessica Klement talks with Kim Weaver, the director of external affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board , the federal agency that administers the Thrift Savings Plan . In Weaver’s final interview before retirement from the federal government, the two take a look back at her 12 years with the TSP and the advances the largest re...

In the first Eye on Washington since President Donald Trump’s reelection, host Jessica Klement welcoms back Jenny Mattingley, vice president of Government Affairs at the Partnership for Public Service . In the wake of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency from the new administration, there is unease among the federal workforce regarding job classification and security. Mattingly breaks...

With so much information to cover, federal benefits expert Tammy Flanagan joined host Jessica Klement for a bonus federal benefits open season conversation, this time focusing largely on the new Postal Service Health Benefits Program . With new Medicare Part B and D requirements, postal employees and retirees are wise to spend time reviewing their options before choosing a 2025 plan. See Privacy P...

Federal benefits expert Tammy Flanagan joins host Jessica Klement on this week's Eye on Washington to talk about all things open season, which starts on November 9. The duo discussed big changes for 2025, including the largest average premium increase in years. Flanagan also provided practical tips for evaluating plans, the difference between HSAs and FSAs, and the perennial question of whether to...

IIn closing out the first year of Eye of Washington , host Jessica Klement welcomes back John Hatton, staff vice president of Policy and Programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association . Klement and Hatton discuss the latest congressional action on the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), two laws that have punished federal workers in...

While members of Congress are back home in their states and districts through Labor Day, host Jessica Klement welcomes Federal News Network reporter Drew Friedman to discuss legislation under consideration when Congress returns. The pair covered congressional and administrative efforts to reform the hiring process, as well as the ever-topical issue of returning to the office and its implications f...

This month on Eye of Washington , host Jessica Klement welcomes two guests to discuss one very topical issue: the Trump administration’s proposal to convert employees in “policy-related” jobs into excepted service positions, effectively making them at-will employees.  With former President Trump securing the Republican nomination for president, the policy initiative, rolled out towards the end of...

On this month’s episode of Eye on Washington , host Jessica Klement welcomes Jason Briefel, partner and director of Government and Public Affairs at Shaw Bransford & Roth , a law firm specializing in federal employment law. He is also the director of Policy & Outreach for the Senior Executives Association (SEA) . Klement and Briefel spend this episode talking about pay compression in the f...

On this month’s episode of Eye on Washington , host Jessica Klement welcomes Bob Levi, director of Legislative and Political Affairs for the National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) , and long-time advocate for the postal community. During this year’s federal benefits open season, postal employees and retirees will be placed in the new Postal Service Health Benefits Program, and postal re...

Jenny Mattingley, vice president for Government Affairs at the Partnership for Public Service ,joins host Jessica Klement on Eye on Washington this month to discuss all things good government. A long-time advocate for the federal community, both inside and out of government, Mattingley discussed the Partnership’s advocacy priorities relating to "return to office", the use of AI and how the Paperwo...

Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) joins host Jessica Klement on this month's Eye on Washington to discuss the congressman’s priorities for the federal community. Congressman Connolly was ranked the most effective lawmaker of the 117th Congress by the Center for Effective Lawmaking , no doubt in part due to his work on federal community issues. During the show, Klement and Rep. Connolly tackle t...

In this month’s episode of Eye on Washington , host Jessica Klement talks with Dan Chenok, executive director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government . The duo talk about the rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and how federal agencies are using the technology to better serve their missions. Chenok also covered the Center’s work on being better prepared for the next world-wide...

The first Eye on Washington of the new year welcomes Drew Friedman , reporter with Federal News Network. They discuss the major changes for the federal community in January, including the largest federal employee pay raise in more than 40 years. Federal retirees also saw varying cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) depending on their retirement system – 3.2% for CSRS retirees while FERS retirees onl...

On this month’s Eye on Washington , host Jessica Klement is joined by Kim Weaver, director of External Affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board , the agency that administers the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). There have been several changes in the TSP over the last few years, and Weaver details what these changes have meant for participants, from the military’s blended retirement syst...

The federal benefits open season is in full swing and if you’re overwhelmed by the myriad choices, you’re not alone. On this month’s episode of Eye on Washington , host Jessica Klement talks with Tammy Flanagan, longtime federal benefits expert and principal at Retire Federal who drills down the basics of open season and what you as a federal employee or retiree need to know to make informed choic...

Steve Lenkart, Executive Director of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) joins Jessica to talk about the most important issues facing union members today, including an overview of the role federal unions play in the federal community and the work NFFE members carry out every day, often without the general public noticing. In this hyper-partisan environment and general chaos on Capi...

On the inaugural episode of Eye on Washington, Jessica welcomes John Hatton, staff vice president at the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees to talk about the most important issues facing feds today. Jessica and John discuss the likelihood of the President’s proposed 5.2% pay raise for Feds going into effect in 2024, as well as the political realities surrounding the feder...