Federal Managers Association

The current two-month payroll tax holiday expires on February 29, and Members of Congress will be focusing their efforts on a one-year extension over the next month. To read these letters, please visit the Members Only section of the FMA website: www.fedmanagers.org.

OPM RETIREMENT BACKLOG SPURS LETTER FROM FMA AND GMC

With an influx expected in federal employee retirement, the Federal Managers Association (FMA), as part of the Government Managers Coalition (GMC), wrote a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry regarding the retirement claims backlog the organization is facing. Many federal employees represented by the GMC are eligible for retirement or recently retired and these employees are facing long delays in annuity processing.

“We understand that OPM has attempted to modernize its system since 1998. Despite these efforts, it is the experience of GMC members that backlogs persist and that it can take six months or more before a newly retired employee receives a full annuity check. In addition, our members have experienced a lack of clear communication regarding pre-retirement application inquiries, the payment process, interim pay status that can range from 40-60 percent of the full annuity, and difficulty obtaining information on the status of their payments,” the letter stated. With a quarter of full-time, permanent government and postal employees eligible for retirement, a large backlog prevents retirees from receiving necessary financial resources.

Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Darrell Issa (R-Cali.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), also received the GMC’s sentiments on the backlog. The GMC expressed the necessity of adequately funding critical programs as well as the damaging effects of across-the-board cuts while OPM is facing an influx of work. Funding cuts would most likely result in a deeper backlog, undermining the already struggling system.

To view these letters, please visit the Members Only section of the FMA website: www.fedmanagers.org. OPM released a strategic plan to address the backlog, and an article on the matter can be found in the “What’s Happening in the Executive Branch?” section below.

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WHAT’S NEW ON CAPITOL HILL?

IRS WATCHDOG CONCERNED WITH ABILITY TO MEET MISSION

The Department of Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2011 Annual Report to Congress, identifying problems within the organization most affecting taxpayers: a growing workload and a decline in resources. Nina Olson of the National Taxpayer Advocate, the internal watchdog of the IRS, unsurprisingly determined the agency is having difficulty trying to meet the increasing demands of taxpayers as its budget decreases.

Olson expressed concern of the complexity of the U.S. tax system and the number of citizens it serves. With the current limitation of the IRS budget, which has decreased over the last two years, there have been delays in meeting the goals of collecting revenues from individuals and businesses, as well as distributing government payments and benefits. “The IRS has been a very effective agency, but as we discuss in this report, the imbalance between its workload and its resources is becoming unmanageable,” Olson stated. The report also found problems of tax-related identity theft, poor service for American citizens who live or work overseas, and the IRS’ ability to process liens filed against delinquent taxpayers adequately.

In order to remedy these concerns, Olson recommended the introduction and passage of a theoretical "Taxpayers Bill of Rights" in order to better protect taxpayers and ensure the IRS can deliver necessary services efficiently and effectively. The National Taxpayer Advocate will also be creating a blog, which will give an overview of the 2011 report and further discuss concerns in order to better inform and engage the public.

To read the full report and view the blog, please visit: www.irs.gov.

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WHAT’S NEW IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH?

OPM SEEKING TO IMPROVE RETIREMENT CLAIMS PROCESSING

Responding to a heated House hearing in November regarding its abilities, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a strategic plan on January 17 that details the organization’s proposal to handle the growing backlog of retirement claims. As of the end of 2011, OPM faced a backlog of 48,378 retirement claims, with an average time of 156 days to process new claims. The plan, which encompasses information technology innovations, strategic human resources, and performance management, will allow OPM to overcome the backlog in eighteen months.

The plan is structured around four pillars: people; productivity and process improvement; partnering with other agencies; and, partial, progressive information technology (IT) improvements. OPM will be working with its Retirement Services (RS) team, to reach a reduction in the backlog and promote a more effective claims process.

OPM plans to hire 76 new employees; 56 new Legal Administrative Specialists (LAS) and 20 new Customer Service Specialists (CSS). In addition to extra manpower, the department will also improve its IT systems in order to expedite the movement of data and facilitate the work of LAS employees. OPM will implement higher standards in order to better process claims, ensure that files for claims are complete, and provide employees enough time to complete processing. Additionally, OPM is working with other agencies to better understand best practices for claims processing, specifically working with Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO). With these improvements, RS will process almost all of the new claims within 60 days from receiving them, and as such, OPM anticipates the backlog will be eliminated eighteen months.

For more information, please visit: www.opm.gov.

OBAMA CALLS FOR AGENCY CONSOLIDATION

In the name of promoting efficiency and cutting waste, on January 13 President Barack Obama announced he will be seeking to consolidate several federal agencies. The President is looking to create a new department to take on the trade and commerce responsibilities of the following agencies: the Commerce Department, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade Development Agency. The new department would have a seat in the Cabinet and will oversee trade, investment, economic development, and economic statistics.

Commenting on the consolidation, the President stated, “We live in a 21st century economy, but we’ve still got a government organized for the 20th century. Our economy has fundamentally changed – as has the world – but the government has not... Today, I am calling on Congress to reinstate the authority that past presidents have had to streamline and reform the Executive Branch.” Congress will monitor the President’s actions to reduce government agencies to ensure effectiveness. “Consolidating agencies along with other related programs will help entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes grow, compete, and hire, leveraging one cohesive department with one mission: to spur job creation and expand the U.S. economy,” a White House press release stated.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) released a joint statement supporting the initiative to reduce government waste, but also expressed concern on the ability of the new department to create jobs. “We certainly need to look for ways to reduce government and cut taxes, but not at the expense of programs that are helping businesses, ranchers and farmers create jobs and expand our economy,” the Congressmen commented.

For more information on the proposed merger, please visit: www.whitehouse.gov.

SES UNDERGOING NEW PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently redesigned the model for the Senior Executive Service (SES) performance appraisal system. In a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies, OPM Director John Berry and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Jeffrey Zients announced the new system will standardize the way federal agencies manage the performance of SES employees.

The new system clearly defines SES employees’ roles and duties to ensure that performance can accurately be measured. According to the memo, “In addition to promoting greater consistency, the new system will promote greater clarity, transferability, and equity in the development of performance standards, the delivery of feedback, the derivation of ratings, and the link to compensation.”

OPM is working with federal agencies to assist them in fully adopting the new system. Agencies will be able to participate in workgroups in order to successfully convert to the new method. The new system will apply to all career, noncareer, limited term and limited emergency senior executives. Performance appraisals will be calculated based on the senior executive’s ability to:

• successfully lead, while managing change and continuity;
• promote an inclusive work environment that promotes performance;
• effectively and efficiently complete agency missions and goals; and,
• focus on specific outcomes, working toward goals and objectives of agencies.

Annual reviews of senior executives and performance review boards (PRBs) will monitor performance ratings in order to guarantee senior executives are living up to standards. For more information, please visit: www.chcoc.gov.

2011 SAVE AWARD WINNER ANNOUNCED

As part of President Barack Obama’s efforts to cut government waste, on January 9 he announced the winner of the 2011 Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE) Award. Matthew Ritsko, a financial manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, won for his idea regarding lending tools between NASA employees. NASA employees who develop and build flight projects buy specialized tools, but after projects are completed, employees often overlook the importance of tracking these specialized and expensive tools, resulting in duplicate purchases. Ritsko proposed creating a centralized repository for these tools in order to store, catalogue and track the movement of equipment.

Ritsko’s idea won out of almost 20,000 entries. The other final candidates included:

• Kevin Korzeniewski, an attorney with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, proposed no longer automatically receiving hard copies of the U.S. Code book;
• Eileen Hearty, a project manager with the Denver Multifamily Hub for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), suggested reducing the frequency of reviews for evaluating the management of multifamily HUD properties that are already high-performing; and,
• Faith Stanfield, a general technical expert for the Social Security Administration (SSA), proposed changing the SSA magazine, Oasis, to an online-only format to cut costs on production and mailing.

When the President submits his fiscal year 2013 budget request, all four ideas will be included. For more information on the 2011 SAVE Awards, please visit: www.whitehouse.gov.

NSPS FINALLY FULLY PHASED OUT

In October 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for FY10 (P.L. 111-84), which called for the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) to be phased out by January 1, 2012. As a performance-based pay system for Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employees, many saw NSPS as an innovative method to promote accountability in the federal workplace. The system, however, was implemented inconsistently and resulted in complaints of inequality. Questions of discriminatory practices were raised when minorities perceived not being treated the same as white employees. There were also instances in which raises and bonuses did not correspond with performance reviews.

The Federal Managers Association (FMA) showed great concern for the system as nearly all of FMA’s members at DOD were part of the system for varying lengths of time. In 2010, FMA National President Patricia Niehaus testified before Congress on the flaws of NSPS, citing poor management of the system, inconsistent implementation across DOD installations, and inadequate training on the new requirements. She also expressed concern over the standard General Schedule (GS) system of pay, in that it hinders performance by encouraging longevity. Niehaus stressed any system must attract today’s job seekers and reward employees according to performance.

Commenting recently on the end of NSPS, Niehaus stated, “While the controversial pay system is finally phased out, it is important that we continue to work toward achieving excellence in the federal workforce. In order to have an effective and efficient federal government, we must have employees that are fully engaged and striving for greatness, and are rewarded accordingly.”

For more information, please visit the Civilian Personnel Management Service website: http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/.

LEW LEAVING OMB FOR WHITE HOUSE POSITION

White House Chief of Staff William Daley announced on January 9 he is leaving his position with President Barack Obama’s administration later this month following the State of the Union address. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jacob Lew will be taking over the role, but will ensure the 2013 federal budget proposal from the President is complete before moving into the new role.

In a press conference on January 10, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney stated, “Going forward with [Jacob] Lew at the helm, we have someone who for decades has had excellent relations with both Democrats and Republicans, is broadly respected throughout Washington for his service in the House of Representatives for former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, for his service in the Clinton administration, as well as his service here at the State Department and as Director of OMB.”

President Obama called upon Deputy Director Jeffrey D. Zients to take on the role of Acting Director of OMB in the interim. Zients has been with the organization since 2009 and last year handled planning for the possible government shutdown. This is his second time serving as Acting Director; from July to November of 2010, he held the position before Lew was confirmed for the role. “With decades of experience, Jeff has been a tremendous asset to our team and I’m confident in his ability to help us rebuild an economy where hard work and responsibility pay off and the middle class has a chance to get ahead,” the President commented on the appointment.

For more information, please visit: www.whitehouse.gov.

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GET INVOLVED AT THESE EVENTS!

REGISTER NOW FOR THE 2012 FMA NATIONAL CONVENTION!

The Federal Managers Association (FMA) is proud to announce its 74th annual National Convention and Management Training Seminar will take place March 11-14, 2012. The event will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Crystal City - National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

Convention topics include: how FMA is working for federal employees; the current climate on Capitol Hill; a day of management training; and, Executive Board elections for National President, National Secretary, Region 1 Director, and Region 3 Director. Please continue to check the FMA website, www.fedmanagers.org, to register and for the official agenda. We cannot wait to see you there!

FMA IS ON FACEBOOK!

Did you know that the Federal Managers Association (FMA) has a Facebook page? Check us out at www.facebook.com/fedmanagers! This is a great way to stay up to date with FMA events and publications. We also have photo galleries from past national conventions and conferences. FMA’s Facebook page is a great opportunity to connect with other FMA members and discuss important issues. “Like” the FMA page to keep in touch!

Not sure how to access FMA on Facebook? Please contact Katie Maddocks at kmaddocks@fedmanagers.org or 703-683-8700 for more information.

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The Washington Report is published biweekly by the Federal Managers Association.
Jessica Klement, Editor; Katie Maddocks, Staff Writer

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

1641 Prince Street ~ Alexandria VA 22314-2818 ~ (703) 683-8700 ~ FAX (703) 683-8707 ~ E-Mail Info@fedmanagers.org

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