Federal Daily - August 14, 2009

Agencies Increasingly Use Student Loan Repayments as Hiring Tool

Agencies are increasingly paying off some or all of their employees’ student loans as a way to keep talented workers on staff or recruit new ones, said a report posted Aug. 12 on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Web site. Last year, 35 federal agencies provided 6,879 employees with a total of more than $51 million in student loan repayment benefits—which represents a 22 percent increase in benefits paid compared to 2007. The number of employees who received the benefits jumped 4 percent from 2007; the average loan repayment benefit was $7,511, the OPM report said. When compared to 2002, agencies last year spent more than 16 times as much funding on student loan repayments, the report said. By occupation, criminal investigators received the largest share of 2008 loan repayments, about 15 percent, of any single job category. OPM said that agency officials were generally supportive of the program and believed it was helping both recruitment and retention efforts. For example, at the Department of State, a 2008 survey indicated the student loan repayments were a factor in recruitment and retention, and influenced bid selection for recipients. The federal student loan repayment program permits agencies to repay federally insured student loans as a recruitment or retention incentive for job candidates or current employees. Although the student loan is not forgiven, agencies may make payments to the loan holder of up to a maximum of $10,000 for an employee in a calendar year, and a total of not more than $60,000 for any one employee. To see more, go to: www.opm.gov/oca/pay/studentloan/html/CY2008StudentLoan
RepaymentReport.pdf.

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OPM Issues Final Rule for Noncompetitive Hiring of Military Spouses

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Aug 12 published a final rule that would give agencies the authority to appoint the spouses of military servicemembers to civilian government jobs without going through the competitive hiring process. The new hiring authority, which goes into effect on Sept. 11, implements a 2008 executive order to allow agencies to noncompetitively appoint military spouses. “The intended effect of this rule is to facilitate the entry of military spouses into the federal civil service as part of an effort to recruit and retain skilled and experienced members of the armed forces and to recognize and honor the service of members injured, disabled, or killed in connection with their service,” the Federal Register notice said.  Those who qualify are the spouses of active-duty servicemembers of the armed forces who are under orders that authorize a permanent change of station (PCS) move, spouses of totally disabled retired or separated servicemembers, and the unremarried widows or widowers of servicemembers killed on active duty. The notice did note that the active-duty servicemember need not have been killed in combat for the widow or widower to be eligible. Federal agencies are not required to use the hiring authority. Spouses are eligible for a noncompetitive appointment for a maximum of two years from the date of their PCS move, the death of their spouse or the determination of 100 percent disability. Spouses may receive only one noncompetitive appointment per PCS move. To see more, go to: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-19340.pdf.

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GSA Reunites Two Procurement Offices

In an effort to improve the efficiency of government procurement, the General Services Administration (GSA) will bring the Office of Acquisition Policy back into the Office of Governmentwide Policy (OGP), GSA announced on Aug. 11. Both offices share a common mission—to guide policy and procurement across government and to increase the effectiveness of government asset management—two goals which GSA said will be better fulfilled under combined leadership. Originally part of OGP, the Office of Acquisition Policy was renamed the Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer when it was separated in July 2004. “Bringing acquisition policy back into the Office of Governmentwide Policy positions GSA to better fulfill our mission to drive innovation, accountability, and transparency across government,” said GSA acting Administrator Paul F. Prouty. Also, GSA named Michael Robertson as associate administrator of the reunited OGP. Robertson has served as GSA’s White House liaison since March. “Michael Robertson is an outstanding choice to lead these important policymaking offices,” said Prouty. To see more, go to: www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?pageTypeId=8199&
channelId=-24825&P=&contentId=28382&contentType=GSA_BASIC. 

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