News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

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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.

HEALTH--When Chairman Mica called a hearing to investigate the "large, unexpected increases in health insurance premiums for the nation's 9 million federal workers and retires," what he wasn't told "is that federal workers and taxpayers will pay even more if lobbyists from the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association get their way" (The Washington Times).

MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS--"New rules being drafted by the Clinton Administration could allow many employers to exempt themselves from a landmark law intended to expand health insurance benefits for millions of Americans with mental illnesses, federal officials and mental health advocates said today" (The New York Times).

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"The legislative branch appropriations bill, just signed into law, allows as many as 50 Senate restaurants employees to take early retirement" (The Washington Post).

FEDERAL AGENDA--"Given a list of goals for the government, nearly all the respondents in a recent Washington Post-ABC-News poll said the stability of Social Security should be a priority, with 88 percent saying it should be a major goal of the government" (The Washington Post).

VETERANS--Though hiring is down, the proportion of veterans among new hires keeps rising (Federal Times 10/27/97).

COMPUTER TERRORISM--"A presidential commission has warned that the nation's communications and electrical networks are increasingly vulnerable to attack by terrorists using computers and recommends that the US double its current spending on research aimed at countering the threat" (The Washington Post).

CONSUMER AFFAIRS--By the time National Consumers Week kicks off this weekend, its sponsor, the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, may be defunct (The Washington Post).

OF INTEREST--Learn the "languages" of many businesses and you'll always land on your feet (The Wall Street Journal, Managing Your Career).

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Access America Conferences

The National Performance Review (NPR), will launch a series of informational conferences aimed at providing government employees and private industry IT officials with techniques and strategies for implementing the goals of Access America, an NPR report outlining steps to increase access--via the Internet--to government services. The first conference will be held November 3 (changed from September 25) in Baltimore, Md. and then will travel to other cities across the country. Expert panels will discuss IT topics, including Internet/Intranet successes, the future of Distance Learning and collaboration, IT acquisition and procurement reform, and privacy and security.

Improving the Government's Estimates of the Costs and Benefits of Regulation

On Sept. 30 the Office of Management and Budget issued its first report to Congress that tallies the costs and benefits of federal regulation. This conference, sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and the Brookings Institute, will bring together scholars and administration representatives to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the report. Topics to be addressed include methodology, the implications of the estimates themselves and suggested modifications. The conference will be held October 31 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th St, NW. For more information call 202-862-5847.

DTIC Annual Conference

The Defense Technical Information Center is presenting its Annual Users Meeting and Training Conference on Nov. 3-6, 1997 at the DoubleTree Hotel, National Airport, Arlington, Va. The conference theme is Information in the New Millenium. Contact Ms. Julia Foscue at 703-767-8236 or by e-mail at jfoscue@dtic.mil.