National Legislation

Gaston Gianni, National Legislation Chair

I retired from federal service at the end of 2004 after 40 years. My first 32 years were with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), where I served in a variety of audit/evaluation positions. I joined GAO’s Senior Executive Service in 1992 and in 1995 was nominated by President Clinton to serve as the first Inspector General (IG) at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Confirmed by the Senate in April 1996, I served in the position for 8 years prior to my retirement. During my tenure as IG, I also served as the Vice Chair of the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency. During my Federal career, I had extensive interaction with the Congress and its committee.
I joined NARFE in July 2003 and served as Woodbridge Chapter 1270 V P in 2008 and as Chapter President 2009-10. I’ve served as VFC Public Relations Chair since 2011. In August 2013, I became the VFC Congressional Liaison for Virginia’s 1st Congressional District. I also have served on several NARFE National Committees.

As National Legislative Chair, I sit on the VFC Board and work with the other VFC Board members to improve and enhance the VFC for our Chapters and members. The VFC Legislative Chair’s primary function is to coordinate the activities of the VFC’s 11 Congressional District Liaisons and 2 Senator Liaisons. Together we work to ensure that members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation are informed of key NARFE issues that are being addressed by the Congress. In addition, we work to help keep NARFE members updated on important issues and encourage communication with their House and Senate Representatives. Finally, we work to ensure that there is active communication with Chapter members about the importance of financially supporting NARFE’s Political Action Fund.

I look forward to working with NARFE members, Chapters, and Area Vice Presidents during the coming months and will do my best to keep you informed. I appreciate your thoughts, comment and suggestions. My email address is gastongianni@aol.com and my phone number is 703-508-4339. Please feel to contact me.

WELCOME to the VFN National Legislation Web Page

The purpose of the page is to provide Virginia NARFE members (both Active and Retired) with information and assistance to help them carry out their important responsibilities of contacting their congressional representatives about NARFE issues related to protecting earned pay and benefits. This page is a work in progress. We hope to make it the starting point for providing useful information and direct links to the NARFE legislative pages as well as other sites to help you determine the status of legislation in the congressional process and assist you in contacting your congressional representatives. As you become familiar with the site and its information, we would appreciate your feedback and suggestions on what we could do to make the site more useful to you. Email your comments to gastongianni@aol.com

PURPOSE of NATIONAL LEGISLATION

National Legislation Advocacy is at the heart of the NARFE organization. At NARFE National Headquarters in Alexandria, we have a Legislative Director and legislative specialists who constantly research bills that may affect active and/or retired federal employees and interact with Congressional staff and committees on issues that affect NARFE members. They are the front line on Capitol Hill in protecting Active and Retired Federal Employees’ earned pay and benefits. As a separate function, NARFE manages a Political Action Fund (PAC) which is sustained by NARFE member contributions. This IMPORTANT fund is used to provide financial support to committees and individuals who have shown support for NARFE and NARFE’s legislative priorities.

In the Virginia Federation of Chapters (VFC), we have another level of assistance—a National Legislative Team made up of a Chair, two Senate Legislative Liaisons (SLLs) and 11 Congressional District Liaisons (CDLs). The SLLs and CDLs are NARFE members who volunteer their time and efforts to work directly with the members of VA’s Congressional Delegation in the Senate and House. They are the life line between chapters and their respective Congressmen and Senators. They aid in building strong communications with their respective Congressional Representatives meeting with them and keeping them informed of important NARFE issues related to bills and laws which negatively affect federal employees and retirees. Also, CDLs are tasked with communicating with chapter members and encouraging them to take an active role in communicating with their congressional representatives. The VFC National Legislative team meets periodically to discuss NARFE issues, coordinate efforts, and help bring NARFE members together in a single, unified voice.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

It matters what you think. Do you homework and take action. It takes every voice. Please go to our National Advocacy Page and send a letter to your representatiive, it is as easy as a click of a button.

TAKE ACTION TODAY, CLICK HERE AND YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY!

Support NARFE

Donations to NARFE provide necessary funds to support NARFE’s critical legislative efforts to preserve and protect the earned benefits of the federal community and to develop dependable resources and tools to help NARFE members fully understand, manage, and make the most of their benefits. Donations to NARFE are not tax-deductible for federal income purposes.

NARFE-PAC

Federal law prohibits NARFE-PAC from soliciting contributions from anyone other than NARFE members and the immediate family of these individuals. Any contribution received from any other person will be returned to the contributor-

NARFE-PAC Sustainer Program

The same Federal law applies to the Sustainer Program as the NARFE PAC Program. NARFE-PAC Sustainers make automatic monthly contributions to the NARFE-PAC via a credit card. Are you a sustainer and need to update your account? Message advocacy@narfe.org for assistance.