"FECA Reform and Oversight: Prioritizing Workers, Protecting Taxpayer Dollars"
House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
2025-05-06
Loading video...
Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
on workforce protections will come to order. I note that a quorum is present, and without objection, the chair is authorized to call a recess at any time. Today's hearing is about examining the Federal Employees Compensation Act, known as FICA, a more than century-old law, to consider how it might be improved to benefit injured federal workers while also protecting taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse. Enacted in 1916, FICA provides workers' compensation benefits to approximately 2.6 million civilian federal employees, employees of entities wholly owned by the United States, including the U.S. Postal Service, and volunteers with Volunteers in Service to America and the Peace Corps. The FECA program is administered and adjudicated by the Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. Through this program, DOL provides benefits to individuals who sustain an injury or illness in the performance of duty anywhere in the world. Such benefits include wage replacement, reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury, vocational rehabilitation and job placement assistance for disabled workers, compensation for the permanent impairment of limbs and use of body systems, and compensation for survivors of employees due to a work-related death. In fiscal year 2024 there were more than 86,000 new fika cases from July 1 2023 to June 30 2024 the program provided more than $2.9 billion in benefits to more than 178,000 workers and survivors for work related injuries or illnesses. Of these benefit payments, approximately $2 billion was for wage loss compensation, $843 million for medical and rehabilitation services, and $143 million for death benefits payments to surviving dependents.
However, FECA is widely considered to be in need of updating, with the last meaningful changes made more than 50 years ago. Critics of the existing program have argued that it is susceptible to waste, fraud, and and that it can be, at times, overly generous, as many beneficiaries remain on the program well into retirement. The need for reforming FICA has long been recognized by presidential administrations from both parties, in the Clinton administration, George W. Bush administration, Obama administration, and the first Trump administration, all making reform proposals. While these administrations have differed on many matters, they agree on many reforms to benefit FECA recipients. Such reforms include making the wage loss compensation level uniform for all beneficiaries, permitting physician assistants and nurse practitioners to approve claims for FECA benefits, and allowing DOL to communicate with the Social Security Administration to review claimants' employment and wage information. Federal workers and taxpayers deserve a more efficient and effective program. Working together in a bipartisan fashion, we can create comprehensive changes to ensure the FECA program is meeting the needs of workers and taxpayers. Creating a program that prevents abuse by bad actors reflects the realities of the 21st century and provides adequate support to workers, and that is the end goal. I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses about their perspectives on FICA and discussing their recommendations about reforming this important program. With that, I yield to my ranking member for an opening statement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everyone. Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. FICA is more than just a compensation statute. It is a solemn promise, a promise that if a federal worker is injured on the job, we as government will make them whole. It is a commitment not only to those who wear a uniform or work on the front lines, but to every civilian federal employee, from postal workers to TSA agents to those inspecting our food supply and maintaining public safety. These individuals do their job with dedication, and we must ensure they are protected when they are injured doing that work. Unfortunately, in a broader landscape of workers' compensation, we have seen a troubling trend. Years of regressive changes in many states have weakened employee compensation systems, leaving too many workers behind in their moment of greatest need. as one of the last stronghold of workers' first compensation model, and we have a responsibility to preserve and strengthen it, not dismantle it in the name of cost saving or efficiency. Historically, this committee has shown that FICA reform does not have to be partisan. In fact, some of the most significant improvements have been made through bipartisan cooperation. We have demonstrated that when we put politics aside and focus on the mission of supporting federal workers, we can deliver meaningful change. That legacy is worth continuing. We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but we can modernize the vehicle. That means updating outdated procedures, improving access to care, and ensuring injured workers don't fall through the cracks during the claim process. With bipartisan work already underway, including the improving access to workers' compensation for injured federal workers from Chair Wolberg and Representative Courtney, we are headed in the right direction.
But let me be clear. Any changes to FICA must be driven by one question. How does this help workers? The conversation must be centered on listening to workers. Too often, decisions about federal workforce policy are made without real engagement with those directly impacted. We need to hear from the workers navigating the claim process, the physicians providing care, and the families who face financial insecurity when benefits are delayed. Their experiences must guide our reforms. To help us understand the importance of strengthening Rika, I want to share two stories from my home state of Minnesota. In November 2020, a postal truck was hit by a speeding SUV causing the truck to flip over. The letter carrier inside was found unconscious. He suffered numerous injuries including a broken wrist, a torn ACL, a broken chest bone, internal bleeding, and a concussion.
Sign up for free to see the full transcript
Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.