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. NARFE National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association Dulles Chapter 1241 Serving Current, Former & Retired Federal Employees, Spouses and Survivor Annuitants In the Dulles Area of Northern

net 1 st Vice President VACANT 2 nd Vice President Kathleen (Kathy) Loftin Re-tired@cox.net Secretary Bill Schmidt Billschmidt39@yahoo.com Treasurer Joseph Irwin irwinjt@gmail.

1 . NARFE National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association Dulles Chapter 1241 Serving Current, Former & Retired Federal Employees, Spouses and Survivor Annuitants In the Dulles Area of Northern Virginia. February 2018 Visit Dulles Chapter website: Dulles Chapter 1241 Officers President Charles (Chuck) McAndrew net 1 st Vice President VACANT 2 nd Vice President Kathleen (Kathy) Loftin Re-tired@cox.net Secretary Bill Schmidt Billschmidt39@yahoo.com Treasurer Joseph Irwin irwinjt@gmail.com Legislative Chair Bill Schmidt billschmidt39@yahoo.com Membership Patricia Wolfe (Acting) Chair wolfepatriciam@aol.com Website Vicky Duarte Coordinator Cookyflower25@yahoo.com Service Officer Wilma M. Grant Wgrant0208@gmail.com Program Chuck McAndrew (Acting) Co-Chair(s) Charles.mcandrew@verizon. net Hospitality Chair Shirley Boning Shirley.boning@comcast.net Public Relations Jean White Chair Alzheimer s Co- Chairs (Wolfe Acting) Sunshine Committee Chaplain Newsletter Editor Newsletter Distribution Photographer amciv1861@aol.com Art Brophy & Pat Wolfe brophyaj@cuisp.com wolfepatriciam@aol.com Rosemarie Curry Antinori13@gmail.com David LeRoy dhlleroy@aol.com Patricia M. Wolfe wolfepatriciam@aol.com Shirley & Jerry Carpenter Dutchrose1@verizon.net and jbcarp42@verizon.net Randy K. Sayles rksayles@verizon.net PRESIDENT S GREETING: I am pleased to announce that we will have our distinguished NARFE National Headquarters President Mr. Richard Thissen as our guest speaker on Monday March 26. Please plan to attend and bring your friends! I want to mention that the March NARFE magazine will have all the necessary information about voting for the National President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Regional Vice Presidents, along with their statements. This information is available on the NARFE website at There are five candidates for President, including Jon Dowie who is the current Secretary/Treasurer, two for the position of Secretary/Treasurer including our current National President Richard Thissen. Incumbent William Shackelford is running for another term as Regional X Vice President. He has an opponent from North Carolina. Please read the full list of candidates and their detailed statements in the up and coming March NARFE magazine. In April, we will have our State Senator and State Delegate as speakers to provide an update on the General Assembly session that ends on March 10. Chuck McAndrew, President MEMBERSHIP INFO CURRENT CHAPTER 1241 MEMBERSHIP IS 525 During the period January 1-February 2, 2018: New Members: 2 Reinstated Members: 3 Deceased-Spouse Transfer In: 0 Other Transfers In: 1 Page 1 of 6

Prospective Members: 26 Dropped for Non-Renewal: 1 Transfers out of Chapter: 9 Deceased: 0 Sent Second Notices: 10 Welcome to New Members Joyce Derrick and Daisy Greenfield; Transfer Frank Spizuoco

2 Prospective Members: 26 Dropped for Non-Renewal: 1 Transfers out of Chapter: 9 Deceased: 0 Sent Second Notices: 10 Welcome to New Members Joyce Derrick and Daisy Greenfield; Transfer Frank Spizuoco and Welcome Back to Stephen Hammond, Cindy Hobus and Ann Rust. In today s challenging and quickly changing federal employee world, it has never been more important to belong to NARFE. They are always working to protect your earned benefits and to be your voice to Congressional members. Ask a friend to join or renew today if your renewal date is close at Patricia Wolfe & Membership Committee Remember! If Fairfax Co. schools are closed because of inclement weather, Dulles Chapter 1241 Luncheon Meetings are also cancelled. NOTE FROM JANUARY 22, 2018 LUNCHEON Richard Eimas, Tax Advisor and Enrollment Agent, Block Advisors Tax and Business Services, presented attendees with a comparison of the 2017 tax returns and the changes with 2018 after passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Mr. Eimas is a return guest speaker and once again gave several great tips. DULLES CHAPTER 1241 LUNCHEON PROGRAM, FEBRUARY 26, 2018 Speaker: Richard Twombly, Crime Prevention Officer, Fairfax County Police Department Topic: Crime Prevention What can we do? Luncheon Entrée Choices: Chopped Sirloin Steak w/mushroom Sauce & Served w/potatoes & Vegetables Chicken Picata Pasta (Linguine tossed w/lemon & capers. Includes Veggies Tuscan Style Cod w/peppers, Onions, Plum Tomatoes. Served w/rice pilaf & vegetables. Served with salad, rolls, coffee/tea and dessert The cost of the luncheon is $18 which includes tax and a small gratuity. Additional tips are welcome but not required. You may also order from the menu but pay the same amount as you enter the restaurant. Please call your reservation and choice of entree to Shirley Boning at (571) or Shirley.boning@comcast.net no later than Thursday, February 22. Reservations are very important so that the appropriate number of meals can be ordered and prepared. OUR LUNCHEON WILL BE HELD AT AMPHORA DINER, 1151 ELDEN STREET, HERNDON, VIRGINIA AND BEGINS AT 11:30 AM! L-R President Chuck McAndrew and Speaker Dick Eimas UPCOMING LUNCHEON PROGRAMS: March 26, 2018 NARFE President Richard Thissen April 23, 2018 State Senator and Delegate May 21, 2018 June 25, TH DISTRICT BUZZ Congressman Gerry Connolly s support of the January Continuing Resolution (CR) reflects the Congressman s thoughtful concern for the welfare of the many federal employees and government contractors in the 11 th District as well as a commitment to keep the government open for business to deal with the big challenges that our constituents demand. Larger issues remain, however, with the emergence of budget bills which may contain provisions harmful to federal employees and retirees. Congressman Connolly and his staff, as well as NARFE leaders, will be monitoring these developments. Page 2 of 6

3 Recently released NARFE-PAC 4 th Quarter disbursements reports give a clue as to how NARFE is hoping to influence the 2018 election. NARFE-PAC continues to be generous to the sitting Virginia delegation, including Congressman Connolly. Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-10 th District) received the largest donation of $4,000. Within Virginia there may be some concern that NARFE-PAC adhere more substantially to encouraging candidates who support stated NARFE goals of nonpartisan redistricting. Prolonged litigation finally resulted in the redrawing of the 4th District, but a more comprehensive redistricting would no doubt affect the Dulles area, which has probably been kicked around like a political football for too long. Judy Thorne, Congressional District Liaison, 11 th District Congressional District Liaison for 10 th District Congresswoman Barbara Comstock was invited recently by Metro s Chairman of the Board Jack Evans to a safety hearing concerning the Metrorail system. This was the second time she has attended a Metro hearing and was told that she is the only Member of Congress to ever attend such hearings. On January 17, 2018 Congresswoman Comstock sent a letter to Mr. Paul Wiedefeld, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). In her letter, she is greatly concerned about the recent Metrorail derailment. She also mentioned the constant unreliability and dangerous conditions of Metro that unfortunately continue. Riders point out that WMATA has received additional funding and yet the Metrorail system has gotten worse. In her letter she also mentioned her concerns about the muggings and rapes. One specific example was the recent rape aboard a Red Line train where a woman was sexually assaulted in broad daylight. She called these incidents examples of unacceptable conditions that should not occur! She has requested documents from Mr. Wiedefeld on the progress of Safe Track related to ultrasonic testing in the incident area, walking inspections, forensic analysis and metallurgic testing of the removed and quarantined section of the rail where the derailment occurred and finally all documents produced after the inspection of the eight-car train has been completed. Her concluding remarks in her letter requested the WMATA cease the advertising on the behalf of riders called Back2Good and redirect their resources to rectifying the major problems of the Metrorail system. Page 3 of 6 If you have issues or concerns that you would like for me to raise with Representative Comstock, please contact me by telephone on or by at charles.mcandrew@verizon.net. 10 th District CDL Charles McAndrew LEGISLATIVE REPORT: National Legislation: Again we are facing another Continuing Resolution (CR) to continue operating the government for a short time as we go to press. Federal workers and annuitants are exposed to jeopardy because there is a real need for balanced spending. The level of Defense spending has been held down because of the many demands on the government. The Republican leadership sees a real need to increase defense spending and wants to remove the sequester caps on Defense. The Democratic leadership will not budge unless an equal relaxation of non-defense spending is permitted. The sequestration bill was adopted to force both sides to negotiate, but Congress seems unwilling to grow up and do the right thing. There will never be enough money to make all the interest groups happy. As long as we have a closely balanced government, we will face these silly brinkmanship situations. Possibly the 2018 election will create a better balance for the people. One of the problems that we as federal annuitants have been watching this last few months, the Postal Reform legislation, has quieted down because the big solution to the Post Office financial problem was to force all retired postal workers to add Medicare B to their health care coverage. Someone finally looked at what that might cost Medicare. While it would ease the future costs for the Post Office, it would add to the burden of the Medicare trust fund. Currently we are in the middle of the selection process for Congressional candidate nominees. If you have a strong feeling about your current incumbent, get involved with the selection process. State: The General Assembly in Richmond is working hard to process legislation as well as to form a balanced budget for the state. The 2018 session extends from January 10 through March 10. All bills must be processed and a balanced budget must be produced during this time. The House and Senate Rules stipulate that each house must complete work on bills initiated in that house by crossover which is February 13 this year. Each House has until February 20 to present the

4 budget to the other House. Bills that reach the floor of one or the other house will have only a short period of debate before being disposed of. Much of the effort is in committees and subcommittees. Some issues that have come up this session are: Republican Delegate Roxann Robinson carried legislation this year requiring sexual harassment prevention training for all General Assembly employees. In light of recent news reports regarding sexual harassment in the workplace, House Bill 371 ensures that legislators and staff take this issue seriously. The extensive course will be administered by the Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Senate. Delegates, Senators, and staff members of both bodies will be required to take the training courses upon election/hiring and again every two years thereafter. Republicans voted unanimously for the bill while 10 Democrats voted against the legislation. Three bills that would have imposed taxes on hotel stays, reinstatement of the "death tax," and implementation of a tax on streaming services (the Netflix tax) were defeated. HB1444: Helping Taxpayers Save Money: The Federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act is shaping up to have a number of unintended (and yet unknown) consequences. While many taxpayers will pay lower federal taxes, they may end up paying more taxes to Virginia. Virginia law requires taxpayers who take the standard deduction on their IRS 1040 form to do the same on their Virginia return (i.e., if you take the standard federal deduction, you CANNOT itemize on your state tax return). The recent federal tax reform legislation nearly doubled the standard federal deduction for married couples and for singles. Virginia's standard deduction, however, remains unchanged. As a result, while it makes sense for many Virginians to take the new standard federal deduction, it would not be financially beneficial for them to take the Virginia standard deduction. HB1444 would eliminate the requirement for Virginians to take both the standard federal AND standard state deduction. Instead, taxpayers could choose to itemize on their Virginia return--even if they took the newly raised federal standard deduction. Unfortunately, we do not yet know the full impact of the federal tax reform on Virginia. Legislators are working to determine how to best adjust Virginia law to complement the new federal requirements, but the analysis is not yet complete. For this reason, this bill was carried over to 2019 when it can again be considered. See below for a recent article on the issue. Senate Bill 106, requiring Virginia s legislative and Congressional districts to be more compact has cleared the Senate and now being considered by the House Committee on Privileges and Elections. In addition to requiring districts to have roughly equal population, the bill also mandates that districts cannot be oddly shaped or have irregular or contorted boundaries, unless such shapes are justified by municipality lines. The Virginia Senate voted unanimously Monday to pass the Joint Commission on Health Care Bill SB 726, which will let Virginia doctors recommend the use of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil for the treatment of any diagnosed condition or disease. This comes on the heels of Friday s unanimous passing of the companion bill, HB 1251, in the Virginia House of Delegates. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has brokered an agreement on a bill to restore state regulation of electric utility rates, but the consumer protection office of Attorney General Mark Herring (D) contends that the measure remains a bad deal for ratepayers. Northam says the proposed legislation balances the need to keep rates low with the obligation to upgrade the state s electricity grid and invest in renewable energy such as wind and solar. TRANSPORTATION NEWS The active traffic management system, which includes digital signs over each lane on a stretch of about 12 miles of I-66 just outside the Capital Beltway, cost $39 million will be discontinued this year to permit work on the new toll lanes on I66 outside the beltway. Work on the signs began in 2013; the system was first activated in September Construction on two HOV or toll lanes in each direction between the Beltway and Gainesville is set to ramp up this spring, and that will disrupt the system. Bill Schmidt, Legislative Committee Chair EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ACTIONS: The Executive Committee met on January 10, 2018 with President Chuck McAndrew presiding. Treasurer reported a bank balance of $9, as of January 31, Distributed January newsletters: 236 and 362 via regular mail. Thanks to Jerry & Shirley Carpenter and Vicky Duarte for distribution. President Chuck McAndrew, 2VP Kathy Loftin, Treasurer Joe Irwin, Area X VP Wilma Grant and Past President Patricia Wolfe attended Page 4 of 6

the Northern Virginia Caucus Meeting on January 26. Discussed and did follow-up research on money-saving ideas for the Chapter due to declining revenue from chapter membership dues.

If you know of anyone who has lost a loved one, is sick or just needs cheering up, please contact President Chuck McAndrew or Rosemarie Curry at (360) 470-4599 or email: antinori13@gmail.com.

org/findtaxhelp or call 888-227-7669. NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Application Deadline March 21. Open to NARFE members, children and grandchildren. Visit www.narfe.

5 the Northern Virginia Caucus Meeting on January 26. Discussed and did follow-up research on money-saving ideas for the Chapter due to declining revenue from chapter membership dues. our members but don t always know who might appreciate a card. Please help! If you know of anyone who has lost a loved one, is sick or just needs cheering up, please contact President Chuck McAndrew or Rosemarie Curry at (360) or antinori13@gmail.com. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Webinar, What s Your Best Retirement Date?, Free to NARFE members, February 22,2018 Free Tax Service is available through AARP Foundation Tax-Aide. Visit aarp.org/findtaxhelp or call NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Application Deadline March 21. Open to NARFE members, children and grandchildren. Visit April 8-11, 2018 VFC Convention, Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Charlottesville, VA; Phone: ; Reservations Cut- Off March 12. Early Bird Convention Registration March 15. Chapter Ads and Supporters due March 1. VFC Leadership Award Nominations due February 15. Vote on Proposed Bylaws and Resolutions and Candidates for National Office in June 2018 NARFE magazine. FEDCon18, NARFE National Training Conference, August 26-28, Jacksonville, FL. FEBRUARY Our Shortest Month While February is our shortest month, it is packed with important events starting with Groundhog Day: ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER: Dulles Chapter must reduce its expenses as the membership and dues revenue decreases so I am urging you to please consider getting your newsletter via . You will receive it a few days early, usually see photos from previous luncheon and you can share it with others who may be interested in joining NARFE. Many organizations and NARFE chapters are going to electronic only, but we want to serve ALL of our members, so please help us cut costs. I set a goal of five people each month choosing electronic delivery and we had eight or nine last month with a couple asking for the change at the luncheon. Many thanks! Let s keep it up so that we can send via regular USPS to those who don t use regularly or at all. Contact Newsletter Editor at wolfepatriciam@aol.com. SUNSHINE COMMITTEE REPORTS: Our Service Officer and Area X VP Wilma Grant is having day surgery as we go to press. We want to remember Page 5 of 6

National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association Dulles Chapter 1241 P. O. Box 294 Herndon, VA 20172-0294 RETURN SE

6 National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association Dulles Chapter 1241 P. O. Box 294 Herndon, VA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED NONPROFIT ORG U. S. POSTAGE PAID HERNDON, VA PERMIT 6397 Page 6 of 6 Time Sensitive Material Please deliver by February 20, 2018 IMPORTANT NUMBERS: Virginia Fédération of Chapters (VFC) Web site -- NARFE National Web site -- Dulles Chapter Web site -- OPM Retirement Information retire@opm.gov, VA Senate XX (District #) ; VA Delegates XX (District #) NARFE Legislative Hotline ; NARFE Membership Services: CLIP THIS SECTION BELOW AND SAVE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE! nd 33rd 37th 32nd CALL OR WRITE YOUR LEGISLATORS! Virginia General Assembly Senator Janet D. Howell (D) P.O. Box 2608 Reston, VA (703) ; FAX (703) SenHowell@aol.com Senator Jennifer Wexton (D) 20 West Market Street Leesburg, VA (703) District33@senate.va.gov Senator David W. Marsden (D) P.O. Box Burke, VA District37@senate.virginia.gov Delegate Thomas A. Greason (R) Winmeade Dr., Box 427 Lansdowne, VA DelTGreason@house.virginia.gov th Delegate Kathleen J. Murphy (D) P. O. Box th McLean, VA DelKMurphy@house.virginia.gov Delegate Kenneth R. Plum (D) 2073 Cobblestone LN Reston, VA (703) ; FAX (703) DelKPlum@house.virginia.gov 37 th Delegate David L. Bulova (D) PO Box 106, Fairfax Station Fairfax, VA (703) DelDBulova@house.virginia.gov 67th 86th Delegate Karrie K. Delaney (D) P.O. Box Centreville, VA Ofc: Capitol: DelKDelaney@house.virginia.gov Delegate Jennifer Boysko (D) P.O. Box 347 Herndon, VA (703) (804) DelJBoysko@house.virginia.gov U. S. Congress US Senate, Washington, DC VA VA Senator Mark Warner (D) 475 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC (202) ; FAX (202) Senator Timothy Kaine (D) B40C Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC (202) US House of Representatives, Washington DC th 11th Representative Barbara Comstock (R) 226 Cannon House Ofc Bldg. Washington, DC (202) Representative Gerry E. Connolly (D) 4115 Annandale Rd., #103 Annandale, VA (703) ; FAX (703) (202) ; FAX (202)

NARFE National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association

. NARFE National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association Dulles Chapter 1241 Serving Current, Former & Retired Federal Employees, Spouses and Survivor Annuitants in the Dulles Area of Northern Virginia.