News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

VETERANS PREFERENCE--"Congress is revisiting veterans preference for the first time in 52 years. A sweeping overhaul of the 1994 Veterans Preference Act has already cleared the House of Representatives, and the Senate is expected to give its swift stamp of approval before the November election." Some say the federal employment law that once held so much promise for veterans is broken. "This Administration has a record on veterans preference that we are proud to put before the American people," said James B. King, director of the Office of Personnel Management" (VFW Magazine, Kansas City, MO, September).

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"Regardless of which party controls the House or Senate next year, there will significant leadership changes in the two committees that control (or attempt to control) most legislation covering the nation's five federal workers and government retirees" (The Washington Post).

FELLOWSHIPS--"House ethics rules seek to limit members from demanding free help from federal agencies. The rules state that fellows who work on Capitol Hill must be 'part of an established mid-career education program." However, after numerous attempts by Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) To obtain information regarding Defense Department policy on interns and follows, she received copies of several manuals and memos, with three pages blacked out (The Washington Post).

FEDERAL ISSUES--The House voted Sept. 25 to allow federal employees to transfer leave to their fellow employees to transfer leave to their fellow workers during emergencies, strengthen veterans preference and add two new funds to the Thrift Savings Place. It is unlikely the Senate will get a chance to vote on it...Opponents to a proposal to give performance ratings greater importance during reductions in force prevented the Civil Service Reform Act from passing the House Sept. 26...Reducing seniority's importance in RIF rankings would hurt black employees, warns Rep. Carrie Meek (D Fla.) (Federal Human Resources Week, October 7).

OTHER VIEWS--MSPB rules on divorce and retirement (Federal Computer Week, Falls Church, VA, September 9)...Mail order cutting deeply into retail pharmacy, GAO says (Drug Topics, Montvale, NJ, September 2)...NARFE Service Center available (Enterprise, Lexington Park, MD, September 18; Mineral County Independent-News, Hawthorne, NV, September 4)...Public sector job growth remains strong in Denver (Denver Business Journal, Denver, CO, August 30).

OF INTEREST--A recent survey shows Americans who gave to charity last year gave 10% more than they did in 1993. However, more households gave nothing (USA Today)...Learning to speak and write effectively is vital to success (The Federal Times).