Federal Government Policy and Business

Senate Overseers to Consider Bill Raising Maximum Buyout Payment By $15K

Government Executive: Lawmakers will mark up a bill this week that promises to raise the maximum buyout payment officials can offer federal employees by $15,000, as agencies generate plans to downsize their workforces in response to directives from the Trump administration.

The legislation, introduced last Thursday by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., would raise the government’s maximum Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment from $25,000 to $40,000. Congress set the VSIP limit at $25,000 in 1993, and it has not changed since.

The Defense Department piloted a similar buyout increase for its civilian employees in fiscal 2017, but the new bill would extend the raise to civilian and military employees across government. The actual payment will be tied to the Consumer Price Index and change annually to adjust for inflation.

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