OPM sets new funding mechanism for executive boards

The Office of Personnel Management announced Friday that it had won approval from the Office of Management and Budget to implement a new funding mechanism for Federal Executive Boards nationwide. The boards, established by a presidential directive in 1961, play a key role in coordinating agencies' efforts, especially in times of emergency.

The new funding mechanism would establish a mandatory charge to be paid by the agencies served by a particular board, based on their number of employees in each board's jurisdiction area. It would not increase the amount agencies already are asked to contribute voluntarily, said OPM Director Linda Springer.

Springer said the move would ensure a steady source of funding for the FEBs, allowing them to hire the support staff they need without worrying about whether they would have the funds to pay the employees in future years.

Springer also announced an ambitious set of additional 2008 goals for OPM, releasing a second addendum to the agency's 2006-2010 strategic plan.

The agenda includes 105 goals, ranging from speeding hiring to establishing a short-term disability program, that the public can track online.

"These are actions we're going to take," Springer said. "These are goals that are not easy. We are proud of this record. We don't reset the goals, and we don't change dates."

Springer said OPM wrote the goals into the performance agreements it has with its senior executives, and added more goals for executives who wanted exceptional ratings.

One of the agency's top objectives is speeding up retirement processing using the Retirement EZ system launched on Monday. The system is designed to eliminate interim payments and get federal retirees their full payments on time.

"This is a big deal," Springer said. "Not a week goes by that I don't get a call or e-mail from a federal employee who is frustrated by this interim payment."

Springer said she was not concerned by questions about the system's viability raised in a recent Government Accountability Office report. She said the report was based on September 2007 fieldwork, giving OPM time to correct the flaws it outlined.

Addressing other OPM initiatives, Springer said the agency could introduce in Congress a proposal for a short-term disability option for federal employees as early as next week. The agency also plans to implement an identification number for federal employees so they won't have to use Social Security numbers to access personal information stored in agency databases.

OPM also plans to take steps to speed federal hiring, simplify the process for adjudicating security clearances and make it easier for veterans to find civilian employment in government.

The agency is developing common credentials for certain entry-level positions, such as accountants and procurement agents. The idea is to allow applicants to file a single job application, much like the common application system for colleges. OPM is in the process of selecting agencies to conduct a pilot test of the program.

OPM is making similar efforts to reduce the differences in agency adjudication processes for security clearances, so an employee who received a clearance from one agency would not have to begin the process again if he or she moved to a different one.

Springer also said OPM has deployed officials to three military hospitals to provide counseling to veterans looking for civilian jobs.

"We don't believe it's appropriate to leave a stack of brochures and an e-mail address and let them fend for themselves," Springer said.

Finally, Springer said she was frustrated by a lack of progress on legislation introduced last year that would allow federal retirees to come back to work without having to sign dual compensation waivers.

"If we hire an employee from General Motors who is getting a pension, they get fully paid, but if a federal employee comes back, we don't pay them, and I think that's outrageous," she said. "I sound more like a union leader than I do management on this issue."