From the President

To support legislation and regulations beneficial to federal civilian employees and annuitants and potential annuitants under any federal civilian retirement system and to oppose those detrimental to their interests. To promote the general welfare of federal civilian employees and annuitants and potential annuitants, to advise and assist them with respect to their rights under retirement, health and other employee and retiree benefits laws and regulations, and to represent their interests before appropriate authorities. To cooperate with other organizations and associations in furtherance of these general objectives.

Agroup of 20 Senate Democrats and Republicans have been breaking bread at lunch for weeks in the hopes of sparking bipartisan progress on a range of hot-button issues. The odds of the group producing anything of substance are unclear, but it is a start. Keep breaking bread, and hopefully sooner or later, legislation will get passed in the upper and lower chambers of Congress.

Democrats tout their legislative accomplishments, with the big one being another COVID-19 relief bill, while Republicans continue to hammer the Biden administration for slow school reopenings and the crisis at the border.

Democrats in Congress are eying their next agenda goals, including climate change, immigration, infrastructure and jobs via the budget reconciliation process. In the Senate, skepticism abounds, and there is no sign that there will be smooth sailing on all or even some of these legislative items.

Of interest to NARFE members, the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) completed its report on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and concluded that OPM does not have a strategic planning office to facilitate a workforce human capital lifecycle perspective in developing policy, regulations and guidance; providing services; and crafting and sharing promising practices. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to those reading this column. The report stated that the OPM director should be the principal adviser to the president on human capital and should be the lead for federal civilian human capital, setting policy and establishing a framework for agencies and departments to manage their workforces. NARFE supports this recommendation.

The basic findings from NAPA conclude that OPM needs more independence, more authority over workforce policies covering every civilian employee, and more funding to modernize and operate effectively in the 21st century. OPM’s modernization is critical to building the federal workforce the United States needs, but the agency’s rigid and outdated hiring, pay and performance policies and practices, and systems are hurting the government’s capacity to respond to unprecedented challenges. You can read more about the report on page 6.

Stay safe.

natpres@narfe.org