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.

THE FEDERAL DIARY--Still trying to pick your 1997 health plan? You're not alone. "Most federal workers wait until the last minute to make the all-important decision" (The Washington Post).

NCEO--"Employee Ownership in America" offers an inside view of the privatization of OPM's Office of Federal Investigations (From the Website of the National Center for Employee Ownership, http://www.nceo.org/).

INNOVATIVE INTERNET--One federal agency, the National Science Foundation, is among the top 10 innovative Internet sites (USA TODAY).

TQM?--"After four years of reinvention, downsizing, total quality management, mission statements, reductions in force, empowerment . . . it is clear that management chic has taken over the U. S. Government" (The Washington Post).

GOOD GOVERNMENT--"Government is finding innovative solutions to the tough problems citizens care about most." From the federal sector: HUD, FEMA and Department of Labor (The Washington Post).

BAD DATA--"Government economic reports make headlines, trigger million-dollar trades on Wall Street and influence billion-dollar decisions in Washington. Yet the numbers are often wrong. Tomorrow, a congressional commission will report that the Consumer Price Index overstates inflation by at least a percentage point" (USA TODAY).

THE FEDERAL TIMES--"Changes in federal retirement benefits have a better chance of becoming law next year". . . Your computer can be harmful to your health (The Federal Times, December 2).

OTHER VIEWS--HMOs compete for federal employees (Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh, NC, November 1)...Veterans Preference Act affirmed in PA case (Pennsylvania Law Weekly, Philadelphia, PA, November 11).

OF INTEREST--Fewer companies host holiday parties, but those that do spend more (The Wall Street Journal, Work Week).