News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

SECTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM:

20th Annual May Training Program

The 20th annual May Training Program will be held at the Arlington [Texas] Convention Center from 8:00am to 4:00pm on Tuesday, May 13th and Wednesday, May 14, 1997. The two-day training program consists of 13 professional speakers who will present 20 different workshops on a wide variety of topics such as motivation, organizational improvement, successful writing, sexual harrassment, communication strategies, career advancement, and many more. Some workshop titles include:

• How to Manage Projects, Priorities, and Deadlines;
  
• Communicate With Clarity, Confidence, andCreditability;
  
• Technology Never Stands Still.. Neither Should Your Career;
  
• Leapfrogging Roadblocks to Organizational Harmony;
  

Conference costs are $45 per day. Complete conference details are available at http://r6ser1.r06.epa.gov:8000/dfwfeb/calfwp.htm. The registration deadline is April 11,1997. For questions, please call Cheryl Moore, FWPC President, at 817-847-3898.

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Seminar

This two-day seminar scheduled for May 1 and 2 at OPM [in Washington, DC], is designed to help Employee Assistance Program counselors and other mental health professionals in developing and managing a CISD team. The seminar prepares participants to provide a variety of crisis services for distressed employees after a traumatic event occurs at work. For more information call Sheila Rozier at (202) 606-1269.

Third Annual Performance Management Conference

May 13-14, 1997, in McLean, VA, at the McLean Hilton Hotel. This conference is designed to provide practical, cutting-edge information on a wide variety of topics related to performance appraisals and awards. To receive a brochure, call (202) 606-2720, or fax a request to (202) 606-2395. For additional conference information, call Digna Carballosa at (202) 606-1778 or E-Mail dmcarbal@opm.gov.

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.

A VETERANS BATTLE BREWS--"Some politicians and organizations representing federal workers don't know whether to salute or sink a pending House bill to expand civil service job rights for military veterans. The fate of the bill, which supporters expect to breeze through the House, may depend on the Senate testimony of a few good women (veterans vs. non-veterans) as to whether the proposal discriminates against one group while trying to protect another" (The Federal Diary, The Washington Post).

WHITE HOUSE IS TAKING A LOOK AROUND TOWN--"On Monday, Dr. Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, visited a high school here to talk about careers in health care. On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary William M. Daley and Charlene Barshefsky, the United States trade representative, visited another high school to talk about computer skills....And on it goes, this week into next. Cabinet officials and other senior Clinton Administration officials are fanning out to unlikely corners of the capital in a White House effort to show concern for the city. Their appearances follow President Clinton's announcement in January of a $3.9 billion economic revitalization plan for the District of Columbia" (The New York Times, March 21).

U.S. TOLD TO HIRE WELFARE RECIPIENTS--"President Clinton ordered all federal agencies to hire welfare recipients and gave the heads of those agencies 30 days to present him with detailed plans on how they intend to do so....A spokeswoman for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management told THE CHIEF-LEADER that the President's purpose is to get welfare recipients into the federal job application process,' not to bypass the merit system or displace federal employees. Once welfare recipients enter the process, she said, they will compete with everyone else--including displaced federal employees and veterans, both of whom have preference--in the merit-based federal hiring system" (THE CHIEF, March 21).

GPRA NEEDS IN-HOUSE ADVOCATES TO WORK, EXPERT SAYS--"Any successful implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act requires individuals in agencies to champion the cause. Developing a strategic plan that fits in with an agency's goals and mission is exhausting work that requires a continuing struggle to change the way agencies function. And it takes resilience and an ability to start over again after a failure or setback. The few agencies that have made substantial progress in implementing GPRA have leaders that take on the cause, says Chris Wye, director of the National Academy of Public Administration" (FEND's Government Performance Report, March 10).

THRIFT UPDATE--"Don't ignore your Thrift Savings Plan accounts when you need to borrow money. While you are depleting the capital that is invested every month when you borrow against the thrift funds, you are paying yourself back with interest--usually at a low rate--and always through payroll deduction. There are costs associated with borrowing against your thrift accounts, so do some careful calculations beforehand to ensure a bank loan wouldn't cost you less" (Federal Times).