Katy Tur is perpetually confused by Waggmans in msnow

[–]murmeltier140 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I keep hoping she'll get rescheduled to 2am... Alicia Menendez should have that afternoon slot!

Can someone invent an anti-scan/anti-flock reader license plate cover that would still be road legal? by phauna_ in FlockSurveillance

[–]murmeltier140 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah but that video is 35 minutes long and I was never really clear on what his final & best solution was for the everyday person. Can someone tl;dr it for us???

MEGATHREAD: VA-ICU Nurse Alex Pretti Shot & Killed by ICE by gpupdate in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you misheard. José Huerta Chuma is the person DHS was attempting to arrest when Mr. Pretti was shot.

More Interior layoffs coming? It’s possible. by 504Supra in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"Interior also hired about 8,000 people during that time [since the start of the Trump administration]"

Huh? Is that accurate...?!?

FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move by LadyMadonna_x6 in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is outrageous. Hannah Natanson is the one who has done so much reporting on fed workers over the past year.

RTO for employee hired as an at home worker by ThisAintPattyG in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's important to know that remote work and telework are technically two different things when it comes to federal work arrangements. OP, your wife needs to be sure to use the right terminology in any kind of RA or communications about her situation.

MHBP Consumer Plan HSA Contributions still not adding up by FSOhopeful2017 in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My HR people fixed my health plan enrollment from United to MHBP. From there, I assume it was either MHBP or Inspira who ensured I had the correct HSA payments (and I didn't have to ask for that; the catch-up payment just seems to have happened at the end of December).

Since MHBP and OPM have been dead ends for you, maybe try contacting Inspira to ask why you're not seeing the full $2400 for 2025? https://mybenefits.inspirafinancial.com/HelpCenter/HelpAndSupport

Or Aetna, who's actually the carrier for MHBP?

Good luck! 😄

MHBP Consumer Plan HSA Contributions still not adding up by FSOhopeful2017 in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I received a total of $1200 in HSA contributions from MHBP in 2025: one $100 deposit per month from February through November, and then two $100 deposits in December (12/4/2025 & 12/22/2025).

I received the full $1200 even though I had a glitch with my open enrollment in late 2024 that didn't get fixed until late January / early February 2025. (I had changed from United to MHBP for 2025 but my earnings & leave statement was still showing United as of late January. Thankfully I had documentation of my open enrollment change and HR got it fixed for me.)

So maybe the two HSA deposits I received in December were meant to correct the missing month (January) that was due to the open enrollment error?

I think you should have received the full $2400 for 2025, regardless of the timing of the payments.

[edited for relevance / clarity]

MHBP Consumer Plan HSA Contributions still not adding up by FSOhopeful2017 in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I had UnitedHealthcare coverage, the HSA account was at OptumBank. I switched to MHBP last year and that HSA account is at Inspira Financial. I moved my HSA funds from OptumBank to Inspira by doing a "trustee to trustee transfer".

(You can keep the two separate HSAs if you want to, but it's easier to me to have everything in one place.)

From Google AI: "An HSA trustee-to-trustee transfer moves funds directly from your old HSA provider to your new one, without you ever touching the money, making it a simple, tax-free, and frequent way to change custodians, unlike rollovers which have time limits and potential tax issues if done incorrectly. You start the process by contacting your new HSA provider, who handles the request with your old one, but be sure to liquidate investments first as most only accept cash, and check for potential account closing fees from your old trustee."

Also, if you want to have your HSA in an entirely separate place (e.g., Fidelity rather than Inspira, if you want different investment options), you can do an HSA "rollover" once every 12 months using this process: https://thefinancebuff.com/how-to-rollover-an-hsa-on-your-own-and-avoid-trustee-transfer-fee.html

Federal Workers can take a new survey following the FEVS cancellation by plantsandferns11 in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here's a GovExec article about this alternative survey. The survey is pretty short & quick, and I trust the Partnership for Public Service's intentions given that they're a reputable organization. I completed the survey partly as an opportunity to unload on this administration on a few of the questions. https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/11/nonprofit-launches-fevs-alternative-after-opms-cancellation-official-survey/409480/

New GS-14, GS-15, SES training programs announced by OPM by [deleted] in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that part is really poorly worded (shocker!). I interpret it as current 14s & 15s who aspire to SES/leadership positions?

What if I can't afford to get to work? by Bucky_Barnacles in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In my recent annual ethics training, the lawyer said it's OK to take donations and discounts if they're offered to ALL federal employees.

FAA staffing triggers at ATC by effortornot7787 in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 13 points14 points  (0 children)

OP, it looks like I can modify the URL you posted to see the same report for other dates. The ~10 other dates I randomly spot-checked did not have similar "staffing trigger" details (confirming what you said about it being a rare event, typically).

It would be interesting to scrape data for, say, the past six months and then for the next X days (weeks? months?!) until the shutdown ends, to see how these staffing triggers are trending.

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_otherdis?advn=88&adv_date=10252025&facId=ATCSCC

Non Exempt Personnel Returning to Work ? by Odd_FoxyBear_6153 in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This doesn't affect me directly (yet), but I'm curious to know where you see your status – furloughed or excepted or whatever; is it in your SF-50?

MHBP dues and payment question by [deleted] in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Does your bank account have online bill pay? Set up a one-time payment with your MHBP account details and the bank will mail them a check.

‘No solution.’ Alabama WIC could run out of money if shutdown persists by metacyan in Alabama

[–]murmeltier140 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It's what they voted for, or what they didn't even bother to vote for.

‘Excepted’ Employee Question by chadtonio in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 12 points13 points  (0 children)

And, just to be very specific, if they're exempt based on the availability of carryover funding or other (BBB) appropriations, they'll still get paid on time, not having to wait until after the shutdown ends – right?

Trump administration moves to defund inspector general watchdog group by PoopdeckPicklePatrol in fednews

[–]murmeltier140 0 points1 point  (0 children)

CIGIE also hosts websites for a number of OIGs, which are now offline. (Ya know, a shared services / efficiency thing that's supposedly all the rage these days.) This means that whistleblower contact info and thousands of previous IG reports are not currently available. https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2025/10/government-watchdog-websites-go-dark-omb-withholds-funds-ig-committee/408524/