Federal Managers Association

For more information on how to get involved in Public Service Recognition Week, please visit http://www.excelgov.org/psrw.

FMA OFFICIALLY ENDORSES OPM PLAN ALLOWING RETIREES TO RETURN TO SERVICE

In a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Linda Springer, the Federal Managers Association (FMA) officially endorsed Springer’s proposal to allow federal retirees to return to federal service part-time while still being able to collect their full annuity. Springer recently addressed delegates at the Federal Managers Association’s 69 th annual National Convention and Management Training Seminar, where she detailed the new plan.

The legislative proposal sent by OPM to Congress would authorize federal agencies to employ retired federal employees on a part-time basis without offset of annuity from salary. Current law prevents retirees from receiving a fully annuity if they come back to work for the government. Under the restriction, the salary they receive is reduced by the amount of their pension.

In her speech, Springer acknowledged that once retirees leave federal service, they often work for government contractors, which typically costs the government more than if the employee would have continued to work for the government. Under the plan, retirees could work up to 1040 hours in a year, for a maximum of six years without penalty.

In his endorsement letter, FMA National President Darryl Perkinson commented, “[W]e are in the midst of a human capital crisis, exacerbated by the fact that sixty percent of all federal managers and supervisors and more than half of the current federal workforce will be eligible for regular or early retirement in the next few years. This proposal would allow the federal government to preserve the talent it is sure to lose to retirement in the coming years.”

To view a copy of the letter, please visit the “Members Only” section of FMA’s Web site at www.fedmanagers.org.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING ON CAPITOL HILL?

HOUSE PANEL HEARS TESTIMONY ON SSA STAFFING SHORTAGE

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security met last week to hold a hearing on the status of hiring Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Testifying before the Subcommittee were SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue and Director of the Office of Personnel Management, Linda Springer.

OPM is tasked by law to provide a registry of available ALJs for all federal agencies that require their use and OPM has not updated this registry since 2003. The Subcommittee claimed that the lack of qualified ALJs for SSA to hire created staff shortages which is the major cause of the backlog of disability cases at the agency.

Commissioner Astrue concurred that the backlog was due to the shortage of staff, but went further to say that the shortage of staff has been caused by the Congress’ failure to properly fund SSA. He noted that since 2002, Congress has, on average, appropriated $180 million less than President Bush’s budget request for SSA. This lack of funding translates into an additional 177,000 initial claims and 454,000 hearings a year. Commissioner Astrue believes SSA will need at least 150 new ALJ’s as well as at least 700 support staff to assist in the hearing process in the next fiscal year.

Director Springer faced fierce criticism for OPM’s inability to provide a satisfactory ALJ registry for federal agencies. She gave the Subcommittee reassurances that the registry would be available in October 2007 and agreed to provide monthly updates to the Subcommittee on OPM’s progress. Many Members of the Subcommittee felt this was unsatisfactory given how long they have already waited.

“We have been saying for months now that the only way to begin to fix the backlog problem at SSA is to hire additional staff,” commented FMA National President Darryl Perkinson. “I am pleased the Subcommittee is tackling this issue, but Congress must realize that clerical support staff, in addition to Administrative Law Judges, is the solution to this problem.”

RAMPANT FRAUD FOUND IN FEDERAL TRANSIT BENEFIT PROGRAM

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations recently held a hearing on the abuse of the federal transit benefits program by federal employees. The hearing was held in response to a request made by Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate possible fraud by federal employees enrolled in the federal transit benefits program.

The program was established by Executive Order in April of 2000 and is intended to reduce federal employees’ contribution to traffic congestion, air pollution, fuel consumption, and expand the overall use of public transportation. Employee transit passes are to be exclusively used to cover the expense of taking public transportation to and from work. In 2006, the maximum benefit amount an employee could receive was $105 per month. As of July 2006, the Department of Transportation contracted with over 100 federal agencies and had approximately 250,000 participants that claimed about $250 million in benefits.

GAO’s investigation focused on the National Capital Region (the DC Metro Area, including Washington D.C. and parts of Virginia and Maryland), which has approximately 120,000 participants. In this region, agencies use what are known as Metrocheks, issued by the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMTA) for use on the different modes of public transportation. From its research on this region, GAO was able to extrapolate the total cost of fraud throughout the entire program.

Using the transit benefits records from seven major agencies (Departments of Commerce, Transportation, Homeland Security, Defense, and Treasury, and the IRS and Coast Guard) GAO determined that the amount of potentially fraudulent benefits claimed in 2006 for the National Capital Region alone totaled $17 million. Considering these seven agencies make up $70 million of the more than $250 million federal transit benefit program they estimated that the amount of fraud present in the entire program could be as high as $60 million per year.

CONGRESS CONSIDERS CROP INSURANCE REAUTHORIZATION

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management and the Committee on Oversight and GovernmentReform both held hearings on crop insurance this past week. The Federal Crop Insurance Program is a private-public partnership that provides farmers with vital tools to manage the risks they face every year. The Program is administered by the Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) which is supervised by the sixteen private-sector insurance companies that sell and service crop insurance policies.

Testifying before the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management were Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist, USDA, Administrator Eldon Gould, Risk Management Agency, Robert Parkerson, National Crop Insurance Services, Steve Harms, Chairman of the American Association of Crop Growers, Kathy Fowler, President of the National Association of Crop Insurance Agents, and Steven Rutledge, President of Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company.

“I am a believer in crop insurance, and I want to ensure that farmers, and taxpayers, are getting the best product for their dollar,” said Chairman Bob Etheridge (D-NC).  “As this Subcommittee takes up the task of reauthorizing federal farm programs, it is important to examine how crop insurance works with farm programs.  We have seen a host of proposals to dramatically change the current three-legged stool that is our basic farm program and we must tread carefully so as not to inadvertently harm the ability to provide adequate risk management tools that are available through crop insurance.”

The topic of debate shifted in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where Chairman HenryWaxman (D-Cali.) wanted to address two main concerns with his hearing on crop insurance. The first being that the program has failed to meet its main purpose which is to prevent the need for annual disaster payments to farmers and the second to address allegations of taxpayer waste and abuse.

Testifying before this committee were Administrator EldonGould, Risk Management Agency, Phyllis K. Fong , Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Lisa Shames, Acting Director, National Resources and Environment, United States Government Accountability Office, Dr. Bruce Babcock, Director, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, Dr. Bruce Gardner, Distinguished University Professor, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland, and Mr. Steve Ellis, Vice President, Taxpayers for Common Sense.

“I’m not an agriculture expert. I grew up over my family’s grocery store, so I know more about selling produce than I do about growing it. But I know a waste of taxpayer money when I see it. And what our Committee will learn today is that the subject of this hearing — the federal crop insurance program — is costing taxpayers billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse,” commented Chairman Waxman in his opening statement.

For more information on both hearings please visit http://agriculture.house.gov and http://oversight.house.gov

CONGRESS SEEKS TO EXTEND TAX PARITY TO CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES

Senator John Warner (R-Va.) and Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.) recently introduced legislation, S. 1166 and H.R. 1974, respectively, which would extend the same tax benefits that military personnel receive to federal employees serving in combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Currently, military personnel and federal contractors serving in combat zones receive tax exemptions on their base pay. The moment a service members steps foot in a combat zone they no longer pay federal taxes. However, federal civilian employees are not eligible for these tax exemptions before one year in a danger zone.

"Just as military personnel, federal employees serving in combat zones must leave their families behind and this can increase the financial burdens on families. Families with two working parents suddenly have only one parent able to care for the needs of the family. Military personnel in combat zones were given a tax credit back in 1913 to help alleviate their tax burden, but federal employees were left out,” stated Rep. Wolf.

“Thousands of our nation’s civil servants are serving alongside members of the Armed Forces as firefighters, depot maintenance and repair workers, and in other support positions on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. They deserve the same pay and benefits as our military personnel,” commented FMA National President Darryl Perkinson.

In other news on Capitol Hill, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) reintroduced S. 1254, the Government Pension Offset Reform Act which seeks to correct the current law that prohibits federal retirees from collecting both a government annuity based on their own work and Social Security benefits based on their spouse's work record. Under current law, a Social Security spouse’s benefit is reduced or eliminated if the spouse is eligible for a pension based on a local, state or federal job that was not covered by Social Security.

“I’m fighting to address this cruel and heartless rule, and call on Congress and the Bush Administration to work to find a solution to this problem,” said Senator Mikulski. “Congress needs to know how important this issue is to our nation’s seniors who have dedicated their lives serving the public. These unjust rules of government affect retired teachers, policemen and firefighters who have worked hard to serve our communities.”

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 WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH?

 HOUSE PANEL APPROVES 3.5% PAY RAISE FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL

As part of the fiscal year 2008 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 1585), a House Armed Services subcommittee recently approved a 3.5 percent pay raise for military personnel. While this represents a disparity between military personnel and what the President proposed for civilians in FY08 (3 percent), it also sets the stage for appropriators to increase the pay raise for civilians to parity with the military.

In his Budget for the United States Government for FY2008, President Bush proposed a 3 percent pay raise for both civilians and military employees of the federal government. This represented the second time in the President’s administration that pay parity had been offered for both the civilian and military service. However, the 3 percent proposed raise does little to close the growing pay gap between the public and private sectors.

“As Congress begins the appropriations process, I encourage Members of the Appropriations Committee to stick to over 20 years of precedent and approve a 3.5 percent pay raise for all federal employees in light of the recent action taken in the House Armed Services Committee,” FMA National President Darryl Perkinson said. “Those in the civil service that have dedicated their lives to serving their country – and do so with efficiency and enthusiasm – deserve the same benefits .”

NEW HIRING RULES FOR CRITICAL POSITIONS PROPOSED BY OPM

 In the struggle to hire the most skilled workers for critical positions in the federal government, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is providing for more flexibility in the hiring process. OPM has proposed new rules governing the use of the critical position pay authority that allows agencies to offer higher rates of pay for positions that require a significant level of expertise in a scientific, technical, professional, or administrative field and are critical to the agency’s mission.

Under the proposed rules, the head of an agency could request critical position pay authority by sending a written request and supporting documentation to the OPM Director. With OPM’s authority, agencies could set an employee’s basic pay rate up to that of a level II on the Executive Schedule - $168,000 in 2007 – without any further approval. In exceptional circumstances, that rate could go up to $186,600.

Employees who receive critical position pay will not experience changes in the conditions of their employment, such as performance-based awards and retention and relocation incentives, the notice said. However, by law, such employees may not be eligible for locality pay.

"OPM staff can only speculate that the ban on locality pay for such positions was in consideration of the fact that critical pay already provided a higher rate of pay for the position than otherwise would apply," said Nancy Kichak, associate director of strategic human resources policy for OPM.

The proposal seeks to clarify what information agencies must provide to OPM in order to obtain critical pay authority, including the position title, the pay plan and grade level, occupational series, geographic location of the position and the current salary of the position. The proposal also requires agencies to submit yearly reports to OPM regarding their use of critical pay authority and whether such authority is still essential to the agency's ability to recruit talented workers.

The proposed rules are printed in the April 25, 2007 Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 79, pp. 20440-20442. Comments submitted on or before June 25, 2007 will be considered. To read the proposed rule in its entirety, go to www.gpo.gov/.

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT INCREASES ACROSS FEDERAL AGENCIES

Of all the challenges federal managers face, one has shown remarkable resilience - attracting and retaining the most skilled members of the workforce; ones who might otherwise enter the private sphere in pursuit of higher pay. In an age of steadily-rising tuition costs federal managers have be able to use the student loan repayment program as an exceptional recruitment tool.

Under the program, agencies may provide repayment for certain types of student loans as an incentive to recruit and retain highly qualified individuals. The federal government can make payments up to $10,000 per year, for up to a maximum of $60,000 per employee. In return, the employee must sign a service agreement to work for the agency for at least three years.

A report prepared by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) finds that federal agencies’ use of the program is on the rise. In fiscal year 2006, 34 federal agencies provided 5,755 employees with nearly $36 million in student loan repayment benefits. Compared to FY 2005, this demonstrates a 31% increase in the number of employees receiving student loan benefits, and a 28% increase in agencies’ overall financial investment in this program.

In its annual report to Congress, OPM listed the top three occupations of those receiving student loan repayment benefits in FY 2006 as: (1) Criminal Investigator (921 employees, or 16%); Attorney (441 employees, or 7.7 %); and Intelligence (335 employees, or 5.8 percent).

According to OPM, the agencies using the student loan repayment program the most last year were the: (1) Justice Department (1,981 employees); (2) Defense Department (1,383 employees); (3) State Department (869 employees); (4) Securities and Exchange Commission (365 employees); and, (5) Government Accountability Office (286 employees).

"OPM applauds the increased use of student loan repayments in FY 2006," said OPM Director Springer. "We will continue to work with agencies to assist them in taking full advantage of this incentive, as well as other existing recruitment and retention tools, to attract and retain well-qualified, high-performing employees."

PRESIDENT BUSH USES VETO ON IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL BILL

Congress signed the Iraq Supplemental Conference Report this week which was met by an immediate veto from President Bush, representing only the second veto in his six years in office. In response, the House of Representatives tried to get the three-quarters majority needed to overturn the veto, but ultimately failed.

The war spending bill’s $124 billion dollar price tag included more than $90 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and over $30 billion in unrelated spending by the Democratic controlled congress. The bill also included provisions that would set benchmarks on the Iraqi government and provide for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq starting October 1, 2007, with complete withdrawal six months later. Republicans have come out in favor of benchmarks but have drawn the line at setting an “arbitrary” withdrawal date.

On the south lawn of the White House President Bush said that, “It's not too late for Congress to do the right thing and to send me a bill that gives our troops and the commanders the funds and flexibility they need. I'm willing to meet with leaders in Congress as many times as it takes to resolve our differences. I'll work with Congress to pass a clean bill that funds our troops without handcuffing our commanders, spending billions of dollars unrelated to the war, and forcing our nation to withdraw on the enemy's terms.”

FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCIES WIN A MAJORITY PUBLIC-PRIVATE COMPETITIONS

At the request of Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), Chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) studied the effects of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Circular A-76 process at the Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Circular A-76 seeks to put commercial activities now performed by the government out for public-private competition .

The study found that out of 22 public-private competitions for science agencies in-house organizations won 19 and the private sector won just three from 2003 to 2005. The agencies estimated that the three competitions won by private industry saved the government more than $45 million.

The study also looked at the agencies’ implementation of the 2003 revised A-76 process. They found that five science agencies generally implemented the A-76 process as outlined by the OMB; however, there were one or two deviations. At the Department of Commerce, the GAO found that the National Institute for Standards and Technology had not advertised any commercial competition.

“This study proves what so many are just starting to realize – the federal government is getting the job done and doing it better than its private sector counterparts,” commented FMA National President Darryl Perkinson. “I commend the winning agencies for the great strides they have made in the last few years.”

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GET INVOLVED AT THESE EVENTS!

DATES FOR UPCOMING MID-YEAR CONFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO SET!

Please join us for FMA’s 16th Mid-Year Conference and Management Training Seminar, August 22 – 25, 2007 in San Francisco, California! This year’s Conference, Federal Management: A Golden Gate to a Career of Service , will be held at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Conference attendees will receive a special room rate of $130/night. You can make reservations by calling the hotel at 1-800-381-9552. Be sure to ask for the special rate for the Federal Managers Association group, code V65. Reservations must be made by July 21, 2007.

FMA members will be able to register for the Conference in the coming weeks via FMA’s Web site at www.fedmanagers.org. Fees for the Conference are as follows:

Early-bird: $315 (until June 29, 2007), Regular: $365, (until August 3, 2007), and Late: $400 (until August 17, 2007). Please check back for the most up-to-date information!

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR THE 22nd ANNUAL FEDERAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION CONFERENCE

Register today for FDR XXII, scheduled for July 29-August 2, 2007 in San Francisco, CA!  The FDR Conference is an annual training program for federal managers and employees that provides in-depth training on federal employment laws, policies and procedures. The Annual FDR Conference is known as a premier conference for the federal workforce and is a complete training solution for professionals within the dispute resolution arena. Attendees are able to design their own training schedule by choosing from over 40 workshops in the following five areas: ADR/Mediation, HR/LR/ER, EEO, Dispute Prevention and Leadership Development and Legal Issues. Over 1,000 federal managers and employees attend the FDR Conference each year!  For more information and details about the conference, visit www.fdrconferences.org.

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Long Term Care Partners, LLC , New FMA Corporate Partner.  Long Term Care Partners is the administrator of t he 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.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Federal Employee Program , FMA Sustaining 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.

Wright & Co. , FMA Sustaining Corporate Partner:  Wright & Co. has provided supplemental insurance programs to the Federal government for over 40 years. They have built strong relationships with insurance companies and service providers to offer these comprehensive benefits at low, affordable group insurance rates.  Benefits include: Dental Insurance Plans; Term Life Insurance Plans; Accidental Death and Dismemberment Plan; and Personal Umbrella Plan. Wright & Co. is also the originator of the Federal Professional Liability Program and provider of Disability Income Replacement coverage, underwritten by The Hartford, to all Federal employees.  For more information, please visit:  www.wrightandco.com

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. Today GEICO has a special program established to support the Federal community. GEICO’s Federal program participates in the following organizations and programs: GEICO Public Service Awards, which  have honored Federal workers (active and retired) who have contributed to the public good since 1980; and GEICO Federal Leave Record Cards, which for over 40 years have been provided by GEICO to Federal employees, free of charge, to help them track their annual leave. Find out how much you could save with GEICO auto insurance as an FMA member by getting a line-by-line rate quote at:  www.geico.com

Shaw, Bransford, Veilleux and Roth, P.C., (SBVR) concentrates its law practice on the representation of Federal employees, with a special emphasis on the representation of executives and managers.  SBVR 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

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.  FMA’s leadership fully recognizes the need to prepare career-minded federal employees to manage the demands of the 21st century workplace with greater competence and fully supports this unique and comprehensive certificate program.  For more information, please visit:  www.managementconcepts.com/fmp/fmpodp.asp

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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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