House subcommittee examines FECA reform amid fraud concerns, access problems and postal costs

WASHINGTON — The House Committee on Education and Labor’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections convened a hearing in Washington to examine the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), the century-old workers’ compensation program for federal employees, and to consider proposals to curb fraud, expand access to care and reduce long-term costs.

“FECA is more than just a compensation statute. It is a solemn promise,” Ranking Member Ilhan Omar said in her opening statement, arguing that reforms should center on how changes help injured workers. Chairman Wahlberg and other members framed the hearing as an opportunity for bipartisan updates to a law last changed in a major way more than 50 years ago.

The hearing brought four witnesses: Scott Simondaren of the Congressional Research Service, Luis Santos, acting inspector general at the Department of Labor (DOL) OIG, Brian Renfro, national president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), and Tammy Hull, inspector general of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) OIG. They described overlapping concerns and divergent priorities: reducing waste, fraud and abuse; improving injured workers’ access to timely medical care; and addressing costs borne by the Postal Service.

Why it matters: FECA provides wage replacement, medical care and vocational rehabilitation to federal employees injured on duty. Witnesses and members said the program’s scale and open provider rules have created vulnerabilities to fraud and long-term fiscal pressures. Lawmakers emphasized the need to preserve benefits for legitimately injured workers while giving agencies more tools to detect improper payments.

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