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.
NEXT OPM-INTERAGENCY SATELLITE BROADCAST--"Federal decision-makers should tune in to the next Interagency Satellite Broadcast to learn how a cornerstone of the government's reinvention efforts--the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act-- will affect government operations and services as we approach the 21st century....It will air Wednesday, January 29, 1997, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST" (OPM News Release, January 21).
THE FEDERAL DIARY--"Government executives whose names appear on so-called hit lists because they have somehow frustrated or offended union leaders won't be transferred to Fargo or otherwise have their careers frozen, according to the Clinton administration. Elaine C. Kamarck, senior policy adviser to Vice President Gore, says the administration does not request or make use of information on federal employees' support or nonsupport of agency missions for reassignment purposes.' Kamarck added that using information like that as a basis for personnel actions is expressly prohibited'" (The Washington Post).
AN OUTSIDER' SET TO TAKE OVER PENTAGON--"Long before Billy Cohen of Bangor, Maine, realized that being a self-proclaimed outsider' would score well with voters, he was one. Son of an Irish Protestant and a Jew of Russian heritage, the lifelong Republican and longtime senator who is President Clinton's nominee for defense secretary, felt alone" (The Washington Post).
PARENTS WORK THE WORKPLACE AS FUND-RAISERS--"When was the last time you bought a Girl Scout cookie from a real, live Girl Scout? Now in the height of the Girl Scout cookie selling season, chances are better than ever you exchanged cash for cookies with the scout's mother or father. Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. doesn't keep track, but parents, consumers and trend watchers agree: More of this sort of fund-raising is showing up in the workplace, a transaction between working adults. That's created a new office controversy: How much fund-raising can the workplace bear?" (USA Today).
THE FEDS INJECT QUALITY INTO PURCHASING DECISIONS--"The federal government is taking some bold steps to help those it covers become better-informed health care consumers. During the open enrollment period ending this month, the Federal Employee Health Benefits program (FEHBP) provided 9 million employees, retirees and dependents with NCQA accreditation data--as available--on the plans offered. FEHBP is expected to give federal workers additional quality information in the next several years" (Business & Health, December 1996).
NEXT STORY: Parties Set Priorities