Federal Managers Association

Please visit FMA’s events page this week for more information and to register for the Convention and Management Training Seminar: http://fedmanagers.org/public/events.cfm.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING ON CAPITOL HILL?

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER UNVEILS LATEST HEALTH CARE REFORM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) highly anticipated health care proposal revealed on November 18 follows earlier reform bills introduced in the Senate by calling for establishment of an excise tax on insurance companies offering premium plans. As the Federal Managers Association (FMA) previously reported, the most popular insurance providers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, most notably Blue Cross and Blue Shield, could be subject to the tax in the coming years, which could negatively impact the benefits received by federal employees under these plans.

According to the language contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), insurance providers offering plans costing over $8,500 per year for individual coverage and $23,000 per year for family coverage will face a forty percent excise tax beginning in 2013. This measure to help fund the proposed reforms is in stark contrast to that proposed by Members of the House in the Affordable Health for America Act (H.R. 3962) which would derive a large portion of its funding through a surtax on individuals earning over $500,000 a year or couples with a combined income exceeding $1 million. The House approved the bill by a vote of 220-215 on November 7.

The Senate is scheduled to begin debate on H.R. 3590 this week following a November 21 vote approving a motion to invoke cloture on the bill, although no firm timetable is set for final consideration. FMA has joined several other federal and postal employee groups and several Members of Congress in opposing the excise tax. A copy of the letter FMA recently sent to Members of the Senate may be found at: http://fedmanagers.org/membersvc/presidentletter.cfm. To view a copy of Reid’s health care reform proposal, please visit: http://thomas.loc.gov.

NUMEROUS CHALLENGES THREATEN RECENT SSA SUCCESS

The Social Security Administration (SSA) made significant strides in driving down the backlog of disability claims plaguing SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in FY09, SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue told the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security during a November 19 hearing, but the economic recession and the corresponding rising number of disability claims places the agency’s goal of eliminating the hearings backlog by 2013 in severe jeopardy.

Astrue opened his statement with a brief synopsis of the success the agency has enjoyed in reducing the hearings backlog. In fiscal year 2009, SSA hired 147 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and over 1,000 support staff in ODAR. The addition of these individuals played a pivotal role in reducing the backlog by 38,000 cases in FY09, despite the fact the agency received 30,000 more hearing requests than in FY08. In FY09, SSA resolved virtually all 166,000 cases pending over 850 days.

SSA also reduced average processing time significantly in the past fiscal year, reaching 446 days in October. In FY10, Astrue stated, the agency plans to hire an additional 226 ALJs while maintaining an average support staff to ALJ ratio of 4.5 in order to continue ODAR’s recent achievements.

Acknowledging SSA’s success in reducing the hearings backlog from roughly 768,000 to 718,000 in FY09, Subcommittee Chairman John Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Sam Johnson (R-Tex.) pointed to the economic recession and continued reliance on antiquated technological systems as indicators that the agency’s success could be short lived. Chairman Tanner specifically noted the rising workload facing the state Disability Determination Services (DDS), tasked with making decisions on initial disability claims, due to the recession. While DDSs are confronting this new challenge, ten states are actively furloughing these positions despite the fact DDSs are fully funded by the federal government.

As a result of these furloughs and the inability of DDSs to expand their capacity to address the influx of disability claims, Chairman Tanner said that by the end of FY10, one million American taxpayers will be awaiting a decision on their initial disability claims. Members of the Subcommittee warned that the growing initial disability claims backlog will soon impact SSA’s hearing offices.

Astrue said the agency’s ultimate success is tied to continued “timely, adequate and sustained funding.” SSA is now projecting the agency will face approximately 100,000 more retirement and 350,000 more disability claims than anticipated in the President’s FY10 budget. Although recent appropriations have enabled SSA to hire thousands of additional employees, these individuals require extensive training to become fully productive, emphasizing the need for enhanced projections and delivery of funds.

Astrue praised the President for proposing an $11.6 billion investment in SSA for FY10. The Commissioner said he plans on hiring 7,500 additional employees with the funds, including 1,300 employees in the agency’s hearing offices. The funding will also enable SSA to process roughly 270,000 more initial disability claims in FY10 than in FY09 and an additional 65,000 pending hearing requests. The funds will allow SSA to modernize many of its technological systems as well, which will prove vital in remaining on track to eliminate the backlog by 2013.

For more information on the hearing, please visit: http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

HOUSE PANEL APPROVES DOMESTIC PARTNERS LEGISLATION

Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee clashed over legislation which would extend benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees during a markup session on November 18, and although the Committee approved the 2009 Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (H.R. 2517) 23-12, the discussion leading up to the vote is indicative of the tension surrounding the legislation.

H.R. 2517 would allow federal employees’ domestic partners, defined as “an adult unmarried person living with another adult unmarried person of the same sex in a committed, intimate relationship,” to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program and receive other benefits currently enjoyed by their married, heterosexual counterparts. The legislation would also subject federal employees and their same-sex partners to the same legal rules that currently apply to civil servants and their heterosexual spouses. These rules include financial disclosure requirements and anti-nepotism regulations.

Republicans on the Committee challenged the legislation on multiple fronts, arguing that Congress should not extend additional benefits to federal employees while the country continues to grapple with rising unemployment figures, further opposing the bill based on concerns the language threatens the traditional concept of marriage between two individuals of the opposite sex. Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said many Members of Congress are firm in their commitment to upholding the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and his objections to H.R. 2517 boiled down to the bill’s effect on this concept.

While opposing the sentiment marriage should be an exclusive right afforded to heterosexual partners, several Democrats on the Committee asserted passage of the bill would prove an extremely effective recruiting and retention tool to establish the federal government as a model employer. The bill’s proponents also touted the numerous safeguards placed in the legislation as evidence of their commitment to ensuring individuals cannot falsify their relationship status to receive benefits.

“We must begin to implement workplace benefits that allow us to be as attractive, if not more attractive, than the private sector,” said Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY). “By doing so, we can create the most skilled and effective workforce for the future.”

For more information on the bill as it moves to the House floor for consideration, please visit: http://thomas.loc.gov.

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WHAT’S NEW IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH?

EXECUTIVE ORDER TARGETS GOVERNMENT WASTE

In an effort to boost transparency and accountability in the wake of startling figures documenting improper payments made by federal agencies exceeding $98 billion in fiscal year 2009, President Obama signed an Executive Order on November 20 which intensifies efforts to combat waste, fraud and abuse in federal programs while ensuring these programs continue to deliver services to their intended beneficiaries.

The Order establishes several policies designed to reduce or eliminate erroneous payments, the primary culprits including Medicaid and Medicare disbursements, extending to both agencies and government contractors. Obama’s Order includes a focus on identifying and correcting the largest improper payments while coordinating efforts between federal, state and local governments to combat fraudulent payments.

“When the Federal Government makes payments to individuals and businesses as program beneficiaries, grantees, or contractors, or on behalf of program beneficiaries, it must make every effort to confirm that the right recipient is receiving the right payment for the right reason at the right time,” the Order states in the introduction of the President’s proposed reforms, while acknowledging “No single step will fully achieve these goals.”

Under the Order, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag will, within 90 days, identify which federal programs currently suffer the greatest degree of improper payments, work with the agencies administering these programs to develop targets to address the payments, provide government-wide guidance on the provisions contained in the Order and establish a task group consisting of federal, state and local officials to improve the federal government’s funding of programs. The Order provides each agency with 120 days to identify an official to lead efforts to meet the targets established by Orszag.

Among the myriad of other requirements under the Order is a directive instructing agencies to place a link front and center on their Web sites which discloses information on improper payments made. Orszag and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will have six months to provide data online documenting current and historical rates and amounts of improper payments, including the causes of these errors, rates of payment recovery, targets for waste reduction and the bodies that have received the greatest amount of improper disbursements.

The Order further emphasizes the need to apply the same scrutiny to federal contractors. Within six months, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, working with OMB and agency officials, will provide the White House with a series of recommended actions to improve contractor accountability for improper payments.

“The recommendations may include, but are not limited to, subjecting contractors to debarment, suspension, financial penalties, and identification through a public Internet website, subject to Federal privacy policies and to the extent permitted by law and where the identification would not interfere with or compromise an ongoing criminal or civil investigation, for knowingly failing timely to disclose credible evidence of significant overpayments received on Government contracts,” the Order concludes.

To view a copy of the President’s Executive Order, please visit: www.whitehouse.gov.

AGENCIES HAVE CHANCE TO RESHAPE SUPERVISORY POSITIONS

The impending retirement wave will present agencies with a unique opportunity to shape the next generation of federal managers, one with the knowledge, skills and abilities to adapt to and thrive in a dynamic work environment, according to a recently released report by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) entitled, As Supervisors Retire: An Opportunity to Reshape Organizations. Success, the report states, hinges largely on agencies’ ability to recruit and develop supervisors with these qualities while establishing the proper mix of non-supervisors to provide supervisors adequate time to asses and manage their employees.

According to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) estimates, roughly 53 percent of permanent full-time federal employees will be eligible to retire by the end of 2014, with 57 percent of this group expected to do so. As supervisors are generally older with more years of service than the average employee, MSPB anticipates the looming exodus of federal employees has the potential to seriously disrupt the ratio of supervisors to non-supervisors. With supervisors requiring more time to train, and with their performance tied more directly to agency operations, the report states, agencies must act quickly to find and develop individuals to fill the supervisory vacancies.

“For these reasons, the disproportional loss of leadership in the coming years may severely impact agencies that have come to rely on their supervisors and managers to perform expanded functions in complex work environments, and agencies will be called upon to recruit and develop the employees to replace much of this leadership talent,” MSPB notes.

MSPB provides agencies with five key recommendations to effectively address their supervisory hiring needs. First, agencies must reconsider the amount and type of work supervisors face to ensure they are equipped with the necessary tools to successfully manage their employees. Agencies must also recognize that the role of the federal supervisor has changed over the years, and therefore new criteria must be used in the recruiting and selection process to ensure individuals with the proper competencies are brought on board. Along the same vein, agencies must develop new methods to asses potential supervisors to better anticipate which candidates posses the skills to effectively manage their workforce.

Establishing enhanced training programs must also become an agency priority, according to the report, focusing on how to empower and reward successful employees while promoting cooperation across the agency. Lastly, agencies should use the opportunity presented before them to recruit qualified women and minority applicants to ensure they establish a fully representative workforce.

“Agencies have the advantage of knowing that large numbers of supervisors will be retiring in the near future and that supervisory roles are changing because of the changing nature of the Government’s work and how it is performed,” MSPB concludes. “The convergence of these two events places agencies in a position to capitalize on this ‘changing of the guard.’

To view a copy of the report, please visit: www.mspb.gov.

2005 BRAC PROVING EXTREMELY COSTLY  

The Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to execute its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) statute are proving significantly more costly than originally anticipated, according to a recent audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), with total implementation costs expected to exceed $35 billion, a 67 percent increase over DOD’s original projections. Additionally, GAO’s audit indicates net annual recurring savings produced through the 2005 BRAC upon completion at the end of fiscal year 2011 will have decreased by approximately $94 million compared to DOD’s FY09 estimates.

According to GAO’s numbers, the 2005 BRAC, DOD’s latest series of military base closures affecting over 800 defense installations and over 123,000 personnel, will result in twenty-year savings of $10.9 billion through 2025. DOD initial estimates placed this figure at $36 billion.

GAO primarily attributes the increase in projected implementation costs to ten of the total 182 BRAC recommendations made in 2005. These ten projects account for 83 percent of the $2.5 billion increase in one-time BRAC costs from FY09 to FY10. Of the ten recommendations, realigning Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. costs have risen the most with an estimated increase of $779 million.

“This BRAC round is the fifth such round undertaken by DOD since 1988 and, by our assessment, it is the biggest, most complex, and costliest BRAC round ever,” stated Brian J. Lepore, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management for GAO.

Although DOD disagreed with some of the figures presented in GAO’s audit, particularly in regards to net annual recurring savings, Pentagon officials generally concurred with the assessment. Nonetheless, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Dorothy Robyn, in a statement responding to the audit, said DOD remains committed to the original procedures established under the 2005 BRAC statute.

“As stated previously, even though the BRAC 2005 round is costing more and savings are less than originally estimated in 2005, implementation of these recommendations is an important element of the Department's ongoing effort to reshape our infrastructure to respond to global challenges,” Robyn concluded.

To view a copy of GAO’s report, GAO-10-98R, please visit: www.gao.gov.

FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE WORKING TO CORRECT KEY FLAWS

During a July hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, lawmakers were startled to learn ten Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigators were successful in attempts to enter federal buildings featuring Federal Protective Service (FPS) security checkpoints while carrying all the needed instruments to create a bomb, evading dedication while moving freely through the building with fully assembled improvised explosive devices in tow. Three months after members of the Committee called for drastic reforms within the FPS ranks, GAO found that FPS has taken significant strides to improve protection practices, yet the service must still address several key areas within its program to improve security.

According to a GAO report (GAO-10-142) released on November 18, FPS faces critical gaps in three primary areas: allocation of resources using risk management; leveraging of technology; and, information sharing and coordination. In terms of risk management, FPS provides agencies with recommendations based on perceived dangers, but it is ultimately up to individual agencies to determine if resources should be allocated to address FPS recommendations. Since FPS relies on an outdated risk assessment tool, according to GAO, agencies are often hesitant to accept that risks are being fully addressed.

“As a result, the current approach provides less assurance that the most critical risks at federal buildings across the country are being prioritized and mitigated,” the report states. “Also, GSA and tenant agencies have concerns about the quality and timeliness of FPS’s risk assessment services and are taking steps to obtain their own risk assessments.”

While FPS inspectors are afforded significant autonomy to recommend which technologies agencies should employ to combat threats, little training is available to help inspectors run thorough cost-analyses of their suggestions. Furthermore, FPS documentation of their recommendations, while including cost estimates, do not contain alternative proposals agencies could consider. Agencies therefore lack assurance that investments they make in technologies recommended by FPS are cost-effective, consistent across installations and are the best at achieving results, GAO determined.

Information sharing, the final of the three key components FPS is failing to adequately address, is woefully inconsistent at both the regional and building levels, with misunderstandings of the scope of information that should be shared running rampant. Communication breakdowns between FPS, General Services Administration (GSA) property managers and tenant agencies are common, GAO found, as the three parties are only required to formally meet every two to five years based on a building’s security level.

Failure to direct attention to these critical practices will continue to place FPS in a position where the service is unable to perform its key responsibilities as new security threats emerge, the report concluded. GAO advised the Secretary of Homeland Security to instruct the FPS Director to regularly report on the status of new risk management programs, develop enhanced guidance to asses the cost-effectiveness of alternative technologies and coordinate with GSA to determine the appropriate level of information sharing.

For more information on the report, please visit: www.gao.gov.

DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY GRANTED FOR ACQUISITION VACANCIES

Agencies will soon have greater direct hire authority to fill select federal acquisition positions following a regulation change approved by the Obama administration and published in the November 24 Federal Register notice. Under the new rule, department and agency heads will be afforded greater power to assess if their workforce faces a shortage of acquisition professionals and subsequently bypass standard hiring procedures to address any vacancies.

The direct hiring authority extension, which goes into effect on March 24, 2010, will run through September 30, 2012.

To view a copy of the Federal Register notice, please visit: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr.

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GET INVOLVED AT THESE EVENTS!

CFC SEASON IN FULL SWING, DONATE TODAY!

The Office of Personnel Management is once again rousing support for the federal government’s annual charity drive, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), which kicked off September 1 and runs through December 15. The Federal Managers Association (FMA) is proud to partner with the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA), which offers education scholarships and emergency assistance to federal employees and their families through your donations during this campaign season.

“The Combined Federal Campaign is a tremendous opportunity for civil servants to extend their commitment to the community and charitable organizations, and FEEA is a great example of that,” said FMA National President Darryl Perkinson. “Its work touches the lives of FMA members and their families. The FMA-FEEA scholarship fund helps put federal managers’ children through college and assists some in their own educational pursuits. We are proud to be one of FEEA’s partners in the federal community.”

Federal employees interested in donating to the FMA-FEEA scholarship fund should mark their pledge cards with FEEA’s CFC #11185 and indicate the amount of the pledge, then turn in the card before the deadline for their particular agency. Deductions begin with the first full pay period in January and continue throughout the year.

For more information on the Combined Federal Campaign, please visit: www.opm.gov/cfc. To learn more about FEEA, visit: www.feea.org.

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Long Term Care Partners, LLC , FMA Corporate Partner. Long Term Care Partners is the administrator of the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. Sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Program is available to Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees and annuitants, active and retired members of the uniformed services, and their qualified relatives. With more than 210,000 enrollees, it is the largest employer-sponsored long term care insurance program in the country. FLTCIP policies are simple to understand and offer enrollees some distinct advantages, including comprehensive coverage, competitive and stable rates, international coverage, and administrative service standards that are the highest in the long-term care insurance industry. Policies are sold direct through a highly-trained, non-commissioned staff with no high pressure sales tactics – simply sound advice. Visit www.LTCFEDS.com or http://www.opm.gov/insure/ltc/index.asp for more information.

FSAFEDS, the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program, FMA Corporate Partner. FSAFEDS provides consumers and corporations a single source of health management decision guidance through its integrated suite of consumer-driven healthcare solutions. Its innovative consumer experience offers comprehensive care, planning, spending, productivity and strategic management services that help guide participants to be healthier and more productive. Visit www.fsafeds.com for more information.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Federal Employee Program, FMA Corporate Partner. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association represents the independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. The 40 local member companies of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association have provided millions of families with top-quality, affordable health insurance for more than 70 years. For the one in four Americans who carry Blue Cross and Blue Shield cards, the Blue Plans symbolize health security. Visit www.fepblue.org and join the best, most-recognized group of health insurance providers in the world.

GEICO, FMA Corporate Partner. GEICO was created over 60 years ago to insure Federal employees. Over the years GEICO has continuously strengthened its affiliation with the Federal workforce. GEICO’s Federal program supports the GEICO Public Service Awards, which have honored federal workers (active and retired) who have contributed to the public good since 1980. Find out how much you could save with GEICO auto insurance as an FMA member by getting a quick, line-by-line rate quote at http://www.geico.com/landingpage/go51.htm?logo=00781. When you request a quote, GEICO will make a contribution to support the work of FMA.

Shaw, Bransford and Roth, P.C. SBR concentrates its law practice on the representation of Federal employees, with a special emphasis on the representation of executives and managers. SBR serves as General Counsel to the Federal Managers Association and is uniquely situated to recognize the interests and viewpoints of Federal managers. For up to two free half-hour legal consultations and reduced legal fees as an FMA member, please visit: www.shawbransford.com.

FEDS (Federal Employee Defense Services) provides premier professional liability insurance benefits to the federal employee community. The FEDS liability insurance policy costs only $270 a year, and if you are a manager, supervisor, or law enforcement officer, your agency will reimburse you up to ½ of the cost. Your net cost would be $135 per year. FEDS provides federal employees with the protection they need to do their jobs. You simply can’t afford not to have it! SPECIAL OFFER: Three months free when you make the switch from another federal employee professional liability program. To learn more, visit: http://www.fedsprotection.com. Be sure to note your FMA membership when you join FEDS.

The Federal Managers Association and Management Concepts have teamed up to present the Federal Managers Practicum — a targeted certificate program for Federal managers. As the official development program for FMA, the Federal Managers Practicum helps FMA members develop critical skills to meet new workplace demands and deepen their managerial capabilities. Also, FMA members receive 20% off any book purchase and each book is guaranteed to win you a promotion! For more Practicum information, click here. For a catalog of discounted publications, go to Management Concepts. To order, call Vanessa Gillette at 703-270-4107.

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The Washington Report is published biweekly by the Federal Managers Association.
Jessica Klement, Editor; FMA Staff Writers.

The Federal Managers Association, established in 1913, is the oldest, largest, most influential association representing the interests of the nearly 200,000 managers, supervisors and executives serving in today’s Federal government.

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