May 5, 2008
A summary of daily news relevant to the federal workforce produced by the Partnership for Public Service.
- 2007 Service to America Medal Winner Featured Today on NPR and American Public Media's "The Story"
- Celebrate Public Service at a Washington Nationals game!
- Federal Diary: Not Asked What They Can Do for Their Country
- Job Competitions Fall Short of Agency Goals; OMB Touts Savings
2007 Service to America Medal Winner Featured Today on NPR and American Public Media's "The Story"
Tune into to "The Story" to hear 2007 National Security Service to America Medal winner Anh Duong talk with host Dick Gordon. "The Story"
airs today on NPR stations at 1 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. EST or tune into www.thestory.org to listen live.
The Service to American Medals (Sammies) are presented annually by the Partnership for Public Service to celebrate excellence in federal
civil service. The 2008 Sammies finalists will be announced June 18th. To learn more about the Sammies, visit www.servicetoamericamedals.org.
Celebrate Public Service at a Washington Nationals game!
The Partnership for Public Service
Join the Washington Nationals and the Partnership for Public Service as we celebrate public service this summer -- come cheer the Nationals on to
victory! Get discounted tickets for three summer games -- click here to purchase
through the Partnership for Public Service. You do not need to be a federal employee to receive this discount.
Discounted tickets are available for games on:
- Saturday, May 24 vs. Milwaukee Brewers
- Saturday, July 12 vs. Houston Astros
- Saturday, September 20 vs. San Diego Padres
Discounted ticket prices are:
- RF Mezzanine: $33 (Normally $38)
- Scoreboard Pavilion: $24 (Normally $29)
- Upper Infield Gallery: $15 (Normally $20)
Not Asked What They Can Do for Their Country
The Washington
Post
By Stephen Barr
Asking makes a difference.
Roughly a third of young Americans would give a "great deal of consideration" to entering government service if asked by their parents, a teacher or
-- surprisingly -- the next president of the United States, according to a Gallup survey.
But, for the most part, no one is urging them to think about public service. Sixty percent of the survey respondents under age 30 said they had never
been asked to consider working for Uncle Sam.
But 33 percent of them said they would give serious consideration if it came from their parents, 27 percent if it came from a teacher and 29 percent
if it came from "the newly elected president."
The survey was conducted on behalf of the nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government and is scheduled for release tomorrow as part of Public
Service Recognition Week, a tribute to the contributions that public employees make to the nation.
The data suggest that 18-to-29-year-olds, known as millennials, are "more responsive to interactive communication and personal attention than people
have realized," said Patricia McGinnis, president and chief executive of the council.
The survey, she said, also shows "the potential for the new president and administration, especially as we have the retirement wave getting under
way, to ask people, not just millennials but older people as well, to serve. There's a sense that many would respond and step up, as they did when
John F. Kennedy asked."
Over the next five years, about a third of the federal government's full-time employees will leave, mostly baby boomers who are retiring. A 2006
Gallup survey found that many young Americans do not see the government as innovative and creative, reinforcing long-standing concerns that federal
agencies may find it difficult to compete with the private sector in hiring talented young people.
Anthony Martinez, 28, of Los Angeles, said he would pay attention to a presidential exhortation. A student who works part time, Martinez participated
in the survey, described himself as "pro-government" and said federal employment appeals to him because it provides job security and good benefits.
He
was interested in joining the military but said a hearing impairment blocked his enlistment.
Still, Martinez added, no one has suggested he seek a civilian job in the federal government, and he said he's unsure about how to land such a job.
"You have to know somebody to get in," he said.
More than half of the respondents signaled that they might be responsive to a presidential call to serve, including those older than 30.
For example, 30 percent of respondents over 30 said they would give such a request "a great deal of consideration," and 33 percent said "some
consideration." Of those under 30, 29 percent said a "great deal" and 25 percent said "some consideration."
But not Giorgia Shields, 20, of Auburn, Ala., who said she probably would not answer a call to serve by the next president.
"I kind of wouldn't want to do something I didn't want to do because someone else thought I should," said Shields, a student majoring in English who
participated in the survey.
Participants were asked a series of questions, including what would make them most interested in exploring a job in government. Roughly half chose
"opportunities for growth and advancement" as their top reason. But 45 percent chose "having a flexible schedule and the ability to telecommute" as a
reason for seeking federal employment.
Respondents 18 to 29 said student loan forgiveness (27 percent) and continuing education benefits (26 percent) would draw them to federal
service.
The survey will be discussed at a breakfast tomorrow by McGinnis and a panel that includes Linda Washington, an assistant secretary at the
Transportation Department; Elizabeth B. Kolmstetter, deputy chief human capital officer for the director of national intelligence; Adam Lusin, a
management analyst at the State Department, and F. Warren Wright, a managing partner at Gallup. The Washington Post is a co-sponsor of the
breakfast.
The findings were drawn from an online survey conducted April 14 to 21 by the Gallup Panel, a nationally representative group of households that have
agreed to participate in Gallup research. Gallup sought responses from 2,000 panel members, who are not paid or offered incentives to express their
opinions, and 895 responded.
While the Gallup Panel represents a random sample of the population, this survey was conducted among households with Internet access, which may not
be fully representative of the nation's population. Gallup estimated the survey's margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percent.
Job Competitions Fall Short of Agency Goals; OMB Touts Savings
Government Executive
By Elizabeth Newell
Public-private competitions for
federal jobs in fiscal 2007 are expected to yield almost $400 million
in savings during the next five years, the Office of Management and
Budget reported on Friday.
The slightly more than 4,000 jobs put
up for competition in fiscal 2007 were a fraction of the 18,000 that
agencies had planned to compete. But OMB continues to call its
competitive sourcing effort "a real success." Its latest annual report
on the initiative showed that for the fourth year in a row, agencies
reported average savings of more than $25,000, or 25 percent, for each
position studied.
Paul A. Denett, head of OMB's Office of Federal
Procurement Policy, said the number of competitions and amount of money
saved was particularly significant, given the obstacles to competitive
sourcing. Democratic lawmakers and federal labor unions have strongly
opposed the initiative.
John
Threlkeld, a lobbyist for the American Federation of Government
Employees, said, "We are pleased by OMB's complaints about how
AFGE-inspired reforms have significantly reduced the number of federal
employees subjected to privatization reviews. We're just sorry that we
won't be able to hear this particular OMB complain again next year when
we reduce that number even further."
OMB Deputy Director for
Management Clay Johnson said agencies have carefully tailored their use
of competitions to highly commercial activities that the private sector
is equipped to perform, such as information technology services,
logistics and accounting. In addition to paring down unnecessary
positions, competitive sourcing instills in agencies a desire to
increase efficiency, Johnson said.
"What agencies are beginning
to do now is take this competitive sourcing-type expertise and applying
it to noncompetitive sourcing opportunities," he said. "Agencies ...
are becoming more and more inclined and capable at determining what it
takes to perform a certain function, and how it might be performed less
expensively and more effectively."
Federal employees continue to
win the majority of public-private competitions, though the percentage
dipped in 2007. Employees won 73 percent of the work competed last
year, compared to 87 percent in fiscal 2006.
Johnson and Denett
said on Friday that projected savings from the competitions completed
since 2003 total more than $7 billion. Taxpayers, they said, will
receive a return of about $30 for every dollar spent on competitions,
regardless of who ends up performing the work.
Denett sited the
Social Security Administration as an example of an agency that has
generated significant savings through competitions. He said the agency
has validated almost $5 million in savings in the past year, which will
be applied to addressing its growing disability claims backlog.
Labor
unions strongly challenged OMB's savings claims. National Treasury
Employees Union officials said OMB does not consider costs incurred by
agencies before competitions are announced and uses an underestimated
average salary for employees.
"It does not take a CPA to see that
the mathematics here are fundamentally flawed," said NTEU President
Colleen Kelley. "Very little has been done to validate agency cost
savings numbers, and this report fails to take into account substantial
costs, from staff time spent on competitions to loss of experienced
employees and declining morale of employees whose jobs are being put on
the auction block."
Johnson and Denett said they will continue to
push the initiative through the end of the Bush administration and
possibly into the next administration. With budgetary conditions likely
to remain extremely tight, Denett said he thinks competition is a
necessity, not a political position.
"They may change the title,
do some tweaking on the edges, but that core element of competition and
reorganizing, coming up with most efficient organizations, that's here
to stay," Denett said. "As long as people are looking to save money
this has to make their list."
