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Feds serve proudly amid heightened scrutiny
Various articles
May 7, 2012

For Public Service Recognition Week, Federal Times invited readers to reflect on the state of public service and on what, if anything, should be done to improve it. Following are excerpts:

Thomas Burger, executive director, Professional Managers Association:
As a member of the Public Employees Roundtable, which is the group that many years ago started Public Service Recognition Week as a celebration during the first week in May, I take this opportunity to thank all federal employees for their service. It is during this week that we sponsor many events across the country to recognize public servants.

Many will recall the large tents constructed on the National Mall in Washington where exhibits from both civilian and military components explained what their employees did during the course of a normal day. Due to budget cuts, our group has not been able to have the mall event for the last two years. More importantly, the severe budget cuts, the recent recession and the ongoing economic conditions have had another effect: The morale of federal employees is at an all-time low.

As executive director of the Professional Managers Association, I receive many emails from members asking: "When will the attacks on federal employees stop?"

As a Vietnam veteran of the Marine Corps, my connotation of "attacks" is different. However, in my weekly newsletter to members, I have been using the term in my discussion about the various and sometimes outlandish proposals by some in Congress.

It seems the only way to balance a budget or reduce the deficits is to reduce the federal workforce by 10 percent, increase federal employees' health insurance premiums, eliminate their pensions, increase their retirement calculations, decrease their retirement pay, hire one person for every three who leave, give all federal employees two-week unpaid furloughs, increase retirement contributions and freeze government pay for up to three more years!

Using terms from my days in the Marines, I would say this is a full frontal assault on federal employees.

Morale among our members is not good. But federal employees, in spite of these attacks, and like the soldiers on the front lines, continue to do their jobs with their heads held high. They are committed, dedicated civil servants.

Imagine what they could do with a little respect.

Dora Quinlan, Region 2 director, Federal Managers Association:
I am a senior manager with 34 years of service at the Department of the Navy.

Unfortunately, some Americans do not fully appreciate the contributions federal employees make. I am deeply concerned by the low opinion held not only by many of my fellow citizens but also by the inexperienced lawmakers who promote this perception by equating the salaries of federal workers to wasteful spending.

Congress will have to make hard choices to reduce the $1.2 trillion deficit. Many Americans will have to sacrifice as government spending is slashed. Yet, federal civilian workers have already sacrificed. We are contributing more than $60 billion to deficit reduction with the mandated two-year pay freeze. And just like many American families, we struggle with budgetary pressures and rising costs.

Federal workers feel attacked by lawmakers who target pay, benefits and staffing levels. I believe federal public service is at a tipping point where critical services will be jeopardized. Rather than across-the-board budget cuts, I believe budget cuts should be scrutinized to evaluate the impact on each agency's mission.

Eliminating federal employees' pay raises and reducing their benefits and staffing levels are easy ways to cut spending. Yet, we should all be concerned about how these cuts will affect federal services. How will the government attract and retain top talent, including a high demand for critical technical skills as accomplished government workers retire?

The stereotype of the overpaid government worker will prevail unless administration leaders, agency executives and federal employees inform the public about the critical services we provide. Legislation to cut federal programs may be viewed differently if Americans understand the likely negative impact these cuts would have on services we are accustomed to. Preserving our national parks, processing our tax returns and Social Security benefits, ensuring the safety of our food, medicine, water and citizens will likely be threatened if pending budget cuts prevail.

Federal employees are dedicated, hardworking taxpayers who deserve to be fairly compensated, just like any American worker. Attempting to solve the budget crisis by targeting federal workers makes a career in public service less desirable, with only 2 percent of college graduates planning to pursue federal careers.

As a patriot, I endorse jobs in the federal government as they offer a satisfying and rewarding career in public service. Despite the negative press, budget cuts and increased workload for less pay, I remain a proud public servant.

Jim Willis, deputy director, National Conservation Training Center, Fish and Wildlife Service, Shepherdstown, W.Va.:
Despite the scandals that are making front-page news and the pay and benefits debates that are making many federal employees uneasy, the real story is the millions of hard-working federal professionals who work every day in support of this great nation. I have served in three departments Transportation, Homeland Security and now Interior and I have had the honor to collaborate on work with dozens of different bureaus and agencies. Without fail, I have found federal employees are dedicated and loyal.

They manage national wildlife refuges and national parks to ensure that future Americans have wild places to visit. They keep our airports safe and manage aviation traffic. They rescue people after hurricanes, and help with recovery after major oil spills. Many work behind the scenes in support roles, but many put their lives on the line every day. Some will die in service to their nation.

We have a memorial wall at the National Conservation Training Center that recognizes those in the Fish and Wildlife Service who made the ultimate sacrifice. For a small bureau, there are a lot of names on that wall. And there are memorials like this throughout government.

I started my career at the Coast Guard Academy where public service was established as a core value. I have carried that core value throughout my federal service, but I quickly learned that you don't have to attend a service academy to be a dedicated public servant. As an example, the men and women of the Fish and Wildlife Service are some of the most dedicated public servants with whom I have worked. They are passionate about the mission, and they deserve recognition for their work.

And they are just my most recent example. I would like to thank all the dedicated employees in the federal workforce. Thank you for keeping me and my family safe as I travel. Thank you for managing all the "wild" places my family and I like to visit. Thank you for managing the budgets, the paperwork and the myriad tasks required to run this great nation.

There are challenges ahead for all of us in the federal workforce, but we will continue to make a difference.

Drew Martin, postmaster, West Jefferson, N.C., and editor, National Association of Postmasters of the U.S.:
Since the days of Benjamin Franklin, our nation's first postmaster general, a devoted group of public servants has carried out its unique daily mission in American hometowns large and small. The Honorable Postmaster Franklin and those who've followed him have served their communities by helping to ensure the expeditious flow and secure delivery of vital correspondence, needed packages, news and, especially, heartfelt greetings.

Communications lines connecting people to one another start at the local post office and end at a mailbox served by another post office, perhaps far away. This happens reliably, largely thanks to the men and women who run those post offices, the postmasters of the U.S. Postal Service.

Currently, we find ourselves struggling economically, which rightly brings scrutiny to all that is government. Where there's waste we should eliminate it. Where there's inefficiency, we must redesign our approach. But in our zeal to correct what is wrong, we should take care not to damage critical aspects of an infrastructure put there by our founders for the good of all citizens.

Politicians working as reformers, and USPS bureaucrats who consider themselves business savvy, should remember this is not some extraneous program. It's not just another bloated bureaucracy at least not at the local level, where Americans expect and deserve to be served. The Postal Service is a necessary, nationwide institution, specifically provided for in the Constitution. Moreover, U.S. law promises all American communities full access to essential postal services.

Postmasters play an integral part in keeping that promise. As front-line managers for a huge agency, they give the federal government a human face, often with a personal greeting and a smile for their customers. Postmasters are usually people who have risen through the ranks to become the top official in their locations. Yet, they are not above helping customers one-on-one when the need arises. And particularly in smaller rural areas they're capable of performing nearly every job in their facility.

I believe a smaller, less intrusive federal presence in our lives is necessary to protect the freedoms we cherish, but also to ensure that the proper resources remain available for the things that our government has an obligation to provide: a strong national defense, a well-designed and well-maintained system of roads and public parks, and a communications and delivery network that remains second-to-none in the world a strong and healthy U.S. Postal Service.

We should recognize that America's greatness is due in large part to the special relationship between our people and their government. A career in public service within a government "of the people" is a calling. Postmasters play a vital role, personally connecting the people to their federal government.

Betsy Smidinger, president, Executive Women in Government:
We at Executive Women in Government believe that excellence and integrity in the public sector are enhanced when public servants reflect the faces of the people they serve; that diversity in the workforce is the nation's greatest strength. EWG's mission is to mentor and develop leadership in women across the federal government because we recognize that they are an underutilized resource. With a federal workforce that is more than 50 percent female, only 30 percent of the Senior Executive Service is composed of women, and only 17 percent of Congress is composed of women. The nation cannot afford to underutilize any of its valuable resources.

In times of war and budget cuts, it is easy but not wise to disinvest in leadership and management practices that sustain the workforce. We must recruit the best and the brightest; to train and mentor them to serve the public; and yes, to inspire and motivate them to live up to the best tradition of service regardless of the negative press federal service may get from various sectors of our society.

Allen Friedland, a 42-year federal employee, initially with the Social Security Administration and currently with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.:
St. Albans Naval Hospital, a World War II relic, had been preserved just long enough to receive wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam in 1973. Operation Homecoming the repatriation of 591 American prisoners of war brought 13 POWs to St. Albans.

As a young Social Security Administration field representative working out of the Jamaica, N.Y., district office, I eagerly accepted the assignment to interview the POWs and secure Social Security disability claims from them.

My first interview was with Lt. Cmdr. Read Mecleary. Though told to me 39 years ago, his story is one I will never forget.

A Navy pilot performing bombing missions over Hanoi, Mecleary was hit by enemy fire, ejected and landed in a forest, seriously damaging both knees. He received primitive medical care, but was quickly transferred to prison. Tortured for information, he refused to cooperate. He was placed in solitary confinement for a short period and subsequently moved from prison to prison, where the torture was sometimes repeated. During his six-year confinement, he kept himself sane by exercising as much as possible within the confines of his cell.

He had been an optimistic, athletic young man, and had joined the Navy because he loved aircraft and wanted to serve his country. Now that he was home, he wanted to get his knees fixed, fly again for the Navy, and eventually become a commercial pilot.

Six weeks later after my first meeting with him, Mecleary sent for me. He thanked me and said that he had just received his first Social Security disability check, retroactive for six years, in the amount of $15,000 a small fortune in those days.

The following year, he was back on active duty in the Navy and later served in the Naval Reserve, receiving numerous medals, including a Silver Star for his actions as a POW. As a civilian, he flew for American Airlines for more than 25 years.

Of the thousands of passengers who flew in the planes that Mecleary piloted, how many knew that their captain was a highly decorated war hero, a true patriot who had resisted cruel torture?

When we shop in our local supermarkets, pray in our houses of worship or commute to work, do we stop to ask: "Who is this person next to me?" Maybe he or she is a military hero; maybe a doctor or nurse in a veterans' hospital who saves lives; a federal scientist who adds vital knowledge to mankind; or perhaps a public school teacher working tirelessly to educate the next generation.

Where are today's heroes? If we but look, we will see that they are all around us.

Louis Atkins, president, National Association of Postal Supervisors:
Looking at the burden on those who elect a life of service, I can't help but feel shame. This country's attitude toward public servants has degenerated into something between ignorance and outright contempt.

Some in public service elected to forgo professions where they could have had livelihoods with greater financial security for themselves and their families. The reward for their sacrifice? In many cases it's been to cut benefits, reduce or freeze salaries and, in some cases, layoffs. In addition, several legislators on both the state and federal levels, along with many governors, place the blame for their budget crises on public employees.

What is happening to the U.S. Postal Service is a microcosm of this situation. Despite the fact that mail volumes are declining, if not for an overly burdensome prefunding mandate, the USPS would be in the black. Now, USPS employees are being asked to unfairly take on the burden of fixing a problem not of their doing. The employees and the USPS as an organization are being labeled as another example of government waste and abuse despite the fact that the Postal Service and its employees are taking steps to remain dominant in the marketplace without a "bailout" from the American taxpayer.

No matter if you are a postal worker, air traffic controller, public defender or a school teacher, you are where you are because of your desire to serve others. As John Adams said, "If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind, whom should we serve?"

There is no dispute that the federal sector is in a fiscal crunch. The way we are going to move on is through the hard work and dedication of public servants not by bleeding them dry of their livelihood and their respect.

George Smith, national vice president, Federal Managers Association:
As our nation grapples with a growing federal deficit and financial challenges affecting all Americans, federal employees understand that shared sacrifice is necessary to steer our nation back to prosperity. Our unprecedented deficit, however, was not borne out of rising and exorbitant federal employee salaries. With the proposal to cut the number of federal employees and the implementation of a two-year pay freeze, public servants are shouldering an inequitable burden.

I have two questions for our leaders:

Where was the outrage between 1990 and 2005 when private industry salaries rose more than 25 percent over comparable federal jobs?

How does a pay freeze on federal employees ease the burden of the unemployed?

Federal employees work day after day to supply services Americans depend on, especially our military, our seniors and our poor. We are also easy targets, and many politicians are jumping on the bandwagon.

We are the faceless employees who protect and serve our citizens and assist with programs such as Social Security and the Internal Revenue Service. We support national defense goals and the war fighter. We tirelessly serve in a wide variety of jobs, and we deserve respect.

We are also members of local communities and contribute millions of dollars to local charities each year. We coach children on the ballfield; we volunteer at soup kitchens and at schools; and we sit next to other Americans at our places of worship. We are just like other Americans, except we decided to serve the people and this great country. And just like all Americans, we deserve fair treatment and equitable compensation for our labor.

Jenyfer Johnson, hazardous materials and waste manager, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.:
Public service is just that: giving service to the public, working for the greater good. It is unfortunate that perception has become sullied by scandals, politics and personal feelings.

Public service workers provide for the good of country in parks, libraries, defense bases, procurement, social programs, Social Security, justice and many more. Without these programs, our country would not be the strong proud nation that it is.

While we, as public service workers, have taken many hits in the public perception we cannot let that deter us from being proud of what we accomplish. We do our jobs because we are proud to do our part, alongside America's military, to keep this country the best in the world.

I am proud to say I am a public servant. We should all hold our heads high and always profess our pride in our work. This will go a long way in showing everyone the great in public service.

Alexander Goldstein, space management specialist, Health and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General, New York:
In 1978, shortly before reporting to my Social Security Administration training class, I told an acquaintance I was about to start a job with the federal government. He replied, "That's great. You'll be able to wander around with a coffee cup in your hand and do nothing all day."

Recently I told a doctor who inquired that I was an interior designer/project manager for a government agency. "Those offices are designed?" was the incredulous response.

We all have similar stories. One can say we are at war with the public's perception, but if that is the case, each of us is a foot soldier and we need to fight back. Not in an angry way, but in a patient, matter-of-fact way: Explain to those who make disparaging remarks just what your agency does, why there is a need, and something about your part in the process. (I told that doctor we design "cool" up-to-date offices for an agency that combats health care fraud, and I invited him to come see one).

Whether or not you agree with a particular viewpoint on the size and role of government, the fact is, we're here and we ought to feel that "anything worth doing is worth doing well."

I remember a General Services Administration employee who used to state, at the end of a morning-long, complex conference call, "Well, now I've earned my lunch." A light touch helps!

Our self-image can be aided by the way we choose to appear. The great actor Laurence Olivier was known for building a performance from the outside in he would start with makeup and costume, and those outward signs would inspire him in developing a character.

Mark Twain said: "Clothes make the man." And there was the "On the Town" song lyric: "Manhattan women are dressed in silk and satin." Well, maybe not in the Javits Federal Building, but would it hurt to spruce up a little? And not just when they visit from headquarters!

Although we enjoy benefits denied to most in the private sector, working in the public sector is no bed of roses. After a while, constant criticism in editorials and the popular media has an effect. In the end, it boils down to how you feel about yourself.

"Now have I done a good day's work," says King Edward IV in Shakespeare's "Richard III." If we truly feel that, we can weather this storm.

Homer "Cris" Ford, Veterans Affairs Department retiree, Muskogee, Okla.:
Federal employees must understand that the fraud, waste and abuse that is seen by the public only enhances the notion that the government is ineffective. With the large increase in employees, the quality and timeliness of services provided has not improved. Please also understand that those committing the fraud, waste and abuse are federal employees.

So why would any federal employee not believe that what happens affects each and every one of them? Taxpayers have the right to trust the federal government, but with recent happenings faith and trust is destroyed.

Federal employees need to be more aggressive in stopping fraud, waste and abuse. If you are aware of fraud, you have a responsibility to report it. Once federal employees take an active role in getting the government straight, the trust of the American people may be healed to some extent.

The No. 1 fix would to be to get federal spending under control. Balance the budget and get the federal employee staffing levels back to a cost-effective, manageable level. Cut contracting to a minimum and have federal employees complete the projects. Example: How many thousands of information technology people are employed by the federal government, but yet agencies contract out to the private sector for a project?

Be accountable to the taxpayers. They are the ones paying your salary, not your boss.

Henning Thiel, federal program analyst, Seattle:
The biggest problem is one of perception. The public we serve does not understand how government works.

Citizens lump "government" into one bucket, maybe two buckets if they consider the military part of it. And all of it is bad, inefficient and too costly. Yet, if a cash-strapped city closes some offices to save money, the public complains about lack of access.

Moreover, the public has no idea how complex government is. Therefore, a scandal at the General Services Administration thanks in part to our friends in the media gets projected as being equal to "the government." People forget that it is their neighbors, their friends, their acquaintances who run the small wheels of government, and that we generally try to serve the public well. And we may do it on a GS-9 salary, which is by no means excessive.

David Cox, national secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees:
Let the public service be a proud and lively career. And let every man and woman who works in any area of our national government be able to say with pride and with honor in future years: I served the United States Government in that hour of our nation's need.' President Kennedy, 1961 State of the Union message

Fifty-one years after President Kennedy issued this clarion call to public service, most politicians in Washington seem to be suffering from collective amnesia.

Instead of praise for the public servants caring for our wounded warriors in veterans hospitals and protecting our borders, our aviation system, our prisons, our air and water, and our food, we hear loud attacks on federal "bureaucrats," calls to reduce government employees' take-home pay and moves to slash the budget that will cost public servants their jobs.

The public sector does many things better than the private sector. Just compare the heroism of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with the scandals of private contractors like Halliburton and Blackwater (now Xe).

Note that our most popular health insurer is the federal government through Medicare and the Veterans Health Care System and that these programs' administrative costs are a tiny fraction of those incurred by private health insurers.

And contrast the post-Depression years of financial stability that resulted from government oversight of the banking industry with the evisceration of federal banking agencies that led to the crash of 2008 and the near-depression we're still in.

Yet rather than exalt public service, many politicians reserve their praise for entrepreneurs. Of course, we need businesspeople to create jobs and sell products and services that improve our lives. But they couldn't function without the government providing fair rules for commerce, a strong infrastructure and protection from harm.

And let's be clear: the primary goal of entrepreneurs is to create private wealth, whether or not it contributes to the public good. And some of that wealth-generating activity does so at the expense of our economy, our workers and our living standards.

We need a robust public sector to ensure that the collective will shapes our nation, rather than the narrow greed of a few.

Howard Egerman, American Federation of Government Employees Council 220, Oakland, Calif.:
Shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, I traveled to the city. For the first time as a union safety representative I had an incident that had fatalities, all caused by a person angry at government.

The bomber saw government simply as a thing or institution that made decisions he did not like. So he filled a U-Haul truck with a fertilizer bomb and ignited it. What he forgot is government is not a thing but agencies such as the Social Security Administration where real people do real work to help people. People who died and were wounded included people who needed services from SSA, my agency, such as to file a benefit claim or receive a new or replacement card or benefit verification statement.

Federal employees may not receive salaries equivalent to private-sector workers' but we face the same challenges all citizens face higher gas prices, higher medical costs, higher education costs, an increasing standard of living while our pay is frozen. But we persist and we keep working.

Why? Simply because people like myself who have worked for more than 40 years care about our agency and the public we serve. The presidents and the political appointees may come and go. Procedures may change. But we persist in our desire to serve the public.

Michael Haynes, Naval Facilities Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va.
The state of federal public service is weakening every year that lawmakers continue to use government workers as pawns in their efforts to save face with voters and reduce the deficit using our benefit packages without focusing on stopping widespread government waste and aggressively controlling spending.

We constantly see evidence of wasteful government spending on projects that don't need to be performed. Americans see college loan forgiveness programs, money in aid to countries that don't like the United States, business and mortgage bailouts, fraud in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and extravagant and unnecessary trips. These displays of reckless spending without accountability are why federal workers' morale is low and why most Americans are upset with Congress.

Last fall, Congress established a deficit reduction supercommittee that proved to be dysfunctional and failed to come to an agreement to cut spending. Evidence that Congress can't work together is unsettling to Americans.

Taxpayers want congressional leaders to show spending restraint. That means making hard decisions regardless of the views of special interest groups or popularity among the voters. True leaders obtain respect by treating their followers fairly and by making logical decisions that will obtain beneficial goals for our nation.

One of those actions, though unpopular with federal workers, involved the freezes on pay and cost-of-living adjustments. This action did save a significant amount of money, but Congress always seems to sacrifice the federal workforce. A better choice might have been to reduce redundancies in government instead of attacking benefit packages and taking a chance on losing our top performers to either the private sector or early retirement.

Continuing threats to federal employees' benefits will likely continue to discourage talented personnel from seeking federal careers and hinder services that benefit the American people.

Federal workers are tired of being abused by lawmakers, especially when they don't see spending reforms outside of losing their employment benefits and take-home pay. Everyone expects elected leaders to treat the people's tax money with respect and restraint, yet those leaders haven't attacked the fraud and waste issues that continue to increase the national debt.

Martin Baumgaertner, chief administrative judge, Central Regional Office, Merit Systems Protection Board, Chicago:
Public Service Is Its Own Reward

A bureaucrat's constant condition

Abject object of public suspicion

Is quite undeserved

From those whom we've served

But unlikely to go in remission

The public will always have gripes

Politicians gain votes with their swipes

It takes a thick hide

And plenty of pride

Public servants must be hardy types

The types that gain great satisfaction

Regardless of partisan faction

In doing the deeds

Each citizen needs

Not awaiting a thankful reaction

So this we can finally observe

We give what the country deserves:

The best of our labor

To help every neighbor

What more ought we want than to serve?

Army Civilian Hiring Update Bye Bye Resumix
Kathryn Troutman

We are saying goodbye to CPOL, the Department of the Armys Civilian hiring system.

The Army Civilian Personnel Online application is the last Resumix keyword automated system available to federal jobseekers -- and it is coming down on May 31, 2012.

The CPOL Resume Builder was liked by many federal jobseekers. It is and has been the easiest way to apply for a federal job, with just the resume and a self-nomination form and documents!

The biggest myth in federal job search is this: USAJOBS and federal resumes are read by an automated system for keywords. USAJOBS is NOT a Resumix or automated keyword resume review system! Keywords are still very important for human resource reviewers!

OFFICIAL NOTICE BY CPOL RESUMIX:

From the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC): Effective, 31 May 2012, the Army Resume Builder will no longer be available. The Army will complete its transition to the DoD Enterprise Recruitment Tool (USA Staffing) effective, 1 May 2012. USA Staffing will be the single hiring process and tool used by all DoD components.

APPLYING FOR CIVILIAN JOBS TAKE YOUR RESUME OUT OF THE CPOL BUILDER! Resumes cannot be electronically transferred to USA Staffing. Applicants must manually extract their resume data prior to the system going off-line.

GOOD NEWS: Applicants will be able to view the status of self-nominations from the old system via USAJOBS - My Account - Application Status.

CHART, the Navy and US Marine Corps Resumix system have already moved to USA Staffing and USAJOBS.gov, which is an automated application system of resumes online, and a questionnaire system in Application Manager.

Below is a summary of the major differences between CPOL and USAJOBS for your consideration when revising your resume and applying for civilian Army jobs through USAJOBS.

The Differences Between CPOL and USAJOBS

The USA Staffing system is a combination of the USAJOBS Resume Builder and ApplicationManager.gov. Right now both of these systems require a separate user name and password (not the same, set them up separately); and a separate profile for each. Once they are set up, you will need to remember the user names and passwords and your secret questions.

How Applications are Processed No More Resumix!

CPOL: No More Resumix! CPOL was a Resumix System where the HR specialists searched for best qualified candidates with keywords and keyword phrases.
USAJOBS: This is a human system, where the keywords are important for the resume for the human HR specialists and the supervisors to read, but there will not be any keyword searches for the best qualified candidates.

Application Elements allow more time to apply for federal jobs!

CPOL: Resume Only + Self-Nomination + Documents. This was a fast way to applyl for a federal job.
USAJOBS: Resume Builder + Applicationmanager.gov Questionnaire + Documents (including optional cover letter). The Self-Assessment Questionnaire was originally designed and developed by Bryan Hochstein, Founder of QuickHire. This Questionnaire is now the "valid, reliable assessment tool" that President Obama wrote about in his Hiring Reform Executive Order. The Questionnaire questions will be All New for CPOL Civilian Army Applicants. Allow extra time to get used to the questions there could be between 15 and 60 questions.

Vacancy Announcements USAJOBS is longer!

CPOL: Vacancy announcements were similar to the new USAJOBS vacancy announcements.
USAJOBS: Vacancy announcements are specific for a particular position or positions. The announcements will include longer descriptions of duties, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities, specialized experience and questionnaires.

Character Counts You can write more!

CPOL: You were limited to 12,000 characters for all of your Work Experiences. The preferred length was 3 pages.
USAJOBS: You can write 5,000 characters (including spaces) for each of your Work Experience job blocks. The USAJOBS resume can be longer, preferred length is 4-5 pages.

Resume Format No more Big Block!

CPOL: Big Block format was the typical format in order to cram content into the 12,000 characters.
USAJOBS: Now you can write 5,000 characters for each position. Improving readability for the HR specialists is very important. We recommend small paragraphs focusing on specific skills with Accomplishments. The KSAs in the announcement should be covered in the resume. Keywords are still important for the human resources specialist readers.

Resume Selection No more selection with keywords (Resumix)!

CPOL: The first cut was made by Resumix and keywords. The HR specialist review was done by keywords with the Resumix system. The HR specialist and supervisor would agree on 5 to 7 keywords to "pull" the best qualified candidates. The applicant had to show minimum qualifications and have the keywords in order to get referred.
USAJOBS: The first cut is made by the Questionnaire scores. You should give yourself all the credit that you can on the questionnaire. Your questionnaire score is added to your resume score, and that will determine if you are Minimally Qualified, Qualified or Best Qualified.

Move your resume from the CPOL Resume Builder to USAJOBS.gov Resume Builder:
https://resumebuilder.cpol.army.mil/resumebuilder/builder/index.jsp

Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion...
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Federal Employees

At stake in showdown over 2013 spending: a possible shutdown
A showdown is brewing between the House of Representatives and the White House that, if not resolved, could lead to a government shutdown this fall.
On April 18, the Office of Management and Budgets acting director Jeffrey Zients told a top House lawmaker that President Obama will veto any 2013 spending bills that cut agency budgets below levels set in last years Budget Control Act.
The law caps 2013 spending at $1.05 trillion. But a House-passed budget resolution caps spending at $28 billion less than that.
Until the House of Representatives indicates it will abide by last summers agreement, the president will not be able to sign any appropriations bills, Zients said in the letter to Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
The House budget resolution allows only two options either every agency will see across-the-board cuts or some agencies will see more severe cuts to make up for adequate funding at other agencies, Zients said.
Both approaches break last summers agreement, and neither is acceptable, he said.
Congress must pass appropriations bills for all agencies before the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 or agencies will shut down nonessential functions.
Rogers will not be deterred by hollow press releases, according to committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing.
This year, when appropriations bills pass both the House and the Senate, the president can choose to sign them, or else he can choose to shut down the federal government, put the American people at risk, and imperil our economic recovery, Hing said in a statement.
House panel approves bill allowing semi-retirements
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on April 18 approved a bill that would allow employees to work part-time at the end of their careers while earning partial pensions.
HR 4363, the Federal Employee Phased Retirement Act, introduced by committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., passed by a unanimous voice vote.
The committee also approved an amendment by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., that would allow the part-time retirees to transfer unused annual leave into their Thrift Savings Plan accounts once they fully retire.
Last month, the Senate passed a transportation bill containing the phased retirement provision, 74-22.
If the provision becomes law, it will represent a significant change in how federal employees and agencies plan for retirement. Instead of abruptly moving from full employment to full retirement, older employees would be able to ease into retirement over several months or even a few years.
The Obama administration, which proposed phased retirement as part of its fiscal 2013 budget proposal, hopes it will alleviate the governments brain drain by giving employees with decades of experience more time to pass on their expertise and wrap up crucial projects.
Employees phasing into retirement would be required to spend at least 20 percent of their working hours mentoring younger employees.
Employees would have to be eligible to retire and must have worked full time for the preceding three years to elect phased retirement.
The committee also approved:
HR 538, the Federal Customer Service Enhancement Act, which would require the Office of Management and Budget to create customer service standards and hold agencies accountable for meeting them.
HR 4365, which clarifies that Thrift Savings Plan accounts are subject to certain federal tax levies.
Click here for the full digest

House panel approves bill allowing semi-retirements
By NICOLE BLAKE JOHNSON | Last Updated:April 19, 2012

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow employees to work part-time at the end of their careers while earning partial pensions.

HR 4363, the Federal Employee Phased Retirement Act, introduced by committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., passed by a unanimous voice vote.

The committee also approved an amendment by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., that would allow the part-time retirees to transfer unused annual leave into their Thrift Savings Plan accounts once they fully retire.

Last month, the Senate passed a transportation bill containing the phased retirement provision, 74-22.

If the provision becomes law, it will represent a significant change in how federal employees and agencies plan for retirement. Instead of abruptly moving from full employment to full retirement, older employees would be able to ease into retirement over several months or even a few years.

The Obama administration, which proposed phased retirement as part of its fiscal 2013 budget proposal, hopes it will alleviate the government's "brain drain" by giving employees with decades of experience more time to pass on their expertise and wrap up crucial projects.

Employees phasing into retirement would be required to spend at least 20 percent of their working hours mentoring younger employees.

Employees would have to be eligible to retire and must have worked full time for the preceding three years to elect phased retirement.

The committee also approved:

HR 538, the Federal Customer Service Enhancement Act, which would require the Office of Management and Budget to create customer service standards and hold agencies accountable for meeting them.

HR 4365, which clarifies that Thrift Savings Plan accounts are subject to certain federal tax levies.

GSA scandal Heavy fallout expected
By ANDY MEDICI

Federal employees are bracing for heavy fallout from Congress over the recent scandal at the General Services Administration.

The GSA inspector general's office has asked the Justice Department to review wasteful spending by the agency for possible criminal charges, according to a congressional source familiar with the investigation.

The U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. The Justice Department and the GSA IG office declined to comment.

And on Capitol Hill, four committees have hastily scheduled hearings on the scandal this week.

Many feds who say they are as shocked as anyone over the details that have emerged aren't hopeful measured responses will prevail.

As scandals go, this one was a doozy. The details of the $822,000 Las Vegas conference featuring mind readers, lavish parties and embarrassing parodies were released April 2 in an inspector general's report and widely covered. More than a half-dozen top leaders at GSA were immediately fired, put on leave or forced to resign. And stern rebukes came from the White House.

The IG also found that GSA mismanaged an employee awards program called "Hats Off," in which the agency spent $440,000 on gifts such as iPods, digital cameras and gift cards. The IG said 115 iPods valued at $20,000 could not be accounted for, while another 40 iPods were stolen. And GSA employees administering the program received the most awards, the IG found. GSA suspended the program last week.

"Holy cow what were they thinking?" said one Army logistics supervisor who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to talk to the media. "Everybody [in my office] is gobsmacked. I'm horrified at what's apparently happened out there."

But he and others say the government's responses to such incidents often go too far, creating more problems than they fix.

"Across the federal civil service DoD, everybody there's going to be additional scrutiny," the Army supervisor said. "Some of that is going to be on point, some of it is going to be an unfortunate hindrance to legitimate business."

Many federal employees interviewed by Federal Times most on the condition they remain anonymous said they expect lawmakers to cut deeply into federal travel, conference and training budgets in the aftermath of the scandal. And they expect that getting approvals for legitimate business trips will almost certainly get harder and more time-consuming.

And they may be right.

Rep. Jo Anne Emerson, R-Mo., chairwoman of the House appropriations panel that oversees GSA, said she intends to cut GSA's budget next year. The scandal isn't the only reason, but it demonstrates the agency has more money than it needs, she said.

"We are going to be scrubbing the budget even more than we were otherwise going to be doing because of the conference," Emerson said in an April 10 interview.

Emerson said she is planning cuts to GSA's Public Buildings Service $8 billion budget, including cuts to travel and conference spending for next year.

Brian Turmail, spokesman for Associated General Contractors of America, said contractors are worried the scandal will result in cuts to GSA's construction and renovation budgets.

"Given the extreme lengths our members go through to make sure tax dollars are invested wisely and well, it would be a shame if their workers are punished for the poor choices made by some of the staff over there," Turmail said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Congress needs to examine how GSA made such poor decisions and make sure it does not happen again.

"GSA is an agency that has had problems for many years, and it has a lot of work to do to re-establish trust with other agencies and with the American taxpayers," Cummings said.

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees public buildings, said Congress should place tighter restrictions on how GSA spends its funds.

"There's clear indication GSA, and the Western Region especially, have been abusing taxpayer dollars for years," Denham said.

Lawmakers likely will propose other measures during three planned hearings this week to examine the scandal. Those hearings will be before the House Oversight and Government Reform, House Transportation and Infrastructure, Senate Environment and Public Works committee and Senate Appropriations financial services subcommittee.

"Even before the scandal, we were concerned about cutbacks," said an employee from the Agriculture Department, who asked not to be identified. "Now, people will say, Oh, it's federal employees getting together, and they're going to do mind reading or something.' "

The Army supervisor thinks the scandal will prompt agencies to rely more on teleconferences, online seminars and other virtual meeting technologies. That may not be that bad, he said, since it will be cheaper than flying feds around the country.

The Agriculture employee fears webinars won't provide the same benefits as in-person meetings. She's worried that a regional conference this fall at which Agriculture employees will attend workshops to learn how to implement new hiring, travel and other personnel policies will be canceled due to budget concerns, forcing the discussions online.

"Webinars have connection problems, and who wants to read pages and pages of new policies?" she said. "Who will answer our questions? Who will provide motivation? I don't think you can get a lot of information and networking done that way."

Worse still, some say, is that the scandal reinforces negative stereotypes many Americans hold of federal employees as overpaid, underworked spendthrifts and poor stewards of taxpayer dollars.

"They're going to paint us all with the same brush" as GSA, the Army supervisor said.

A quality assurance specialist at the Veterans Affairs Department said he worries the scandal will give lawmakers an excuse to extend the current two-year pay freeze.

The Army supervisor, who oversees employees who authenticate travel orders for his organization, said some of the GSA travel requests should have raised red flags. For example, he said, some employees stayed in Las Vegas a few days before or a few days after the conference. If an employee had brought that travel request to him, he said he would have reported it.

"The JFTR [Joint Federal Travel Regulations] is very specific on some stuff that they blew right past," he said.

He said the GSA scandal exposed fatal flaws in the agency's management.

"The fish stinks from the head down," he said. "Somewhere, the management culture was such that it evidently caused these people to think it was OK to do what they did."

The Army supervisor said the GSA revelations and the fact that few people involved with the conference seemed to think anything was wrong at the time reminded him of another infamous Las Vegas conference scandal from two decades before: Tailhook.

"There were people out there who know better, and who just seemingly lose their minds," he said. "There's no sense of accountability. It's not our money it's the people's money."

The scandal forced the resignation April 2 of GSA Administrator Martha Johnson and the firing of Public Buildings Service Commissioner Bob Peck and Johnson's chief of staff Stephen Leeds. In addition, Deputy Public Buildings Commissioner David Foley, Region 9 Commissioner Jeff Neely who organized the Las Vegas conference and directed that it be "over the top" and three other regional commissioners were placed on administrative leave.

Lax initial response by GSA
Among the criticisms of GSA is that top officials reacted weakly at first to revelations of wasteful spending on the Las Vegas conference. When confronted with early findings by the IG, Peck handed Neely a weakly worded letter of reprimand.

But GSA's No. 2 official, deputy administrator Susan Brita, complained to Peck and Leeds in a July email that the reprimand of Neely was "not even a slap on the wrist."

"Jeff is a seasoned SES [Senior Executive Service member] who is expected to display the highest standards of common sense, and prudent financial management. He did neither," Brita wrote in the email to Peck and Leeds.

In the letter of reprimand, Peck said to Neely that the inspector general report did not refer to the benefits of the conference and said some of the costs were of "questionable value."

"This instance appears to reflect a managerial lapse which I expect will not be repeated," Peck said.

After that email, Neely received a $9,000 bonus toward the end of 2011.

Not until right before the April 2 release of an inspector general's report detailing the conference waste did GSA place Neely on administrative leave.

Brita's email said the inspector general had not found any conference agenda that supported "important issues."

"Furthermore, expenses for a clown suit, bikes, tuxedos, and mind reader don't really lend themselves to a claim of a substantive conference," Brita wrote.

GSA takes step to fix problems
Even as feds brace for the aftermath of the conference scandal, GSA is already taking steps to rein in wasteful spending. Acting administrator Dan Tangherlini and GSA's inspector General Brian Miller sent a letter to GSA employees last week urging them to report waste or abuse. Other steps:

Require mandatory annual training for all employees regarding conference planning and attendance.

Strengthen contracting oversight for all conference-related activities.

Reduce all 2013 travel budgets for GSA Public Buildings Service regional offices 7, 8, 9 and 10, and shift oversight of those regions' budgets to PBS headquarters in Washington.

White House 2013 Federal Employee Proposals
for 0.5% Pay Raise, Cuts to Retirement Benefits Blasted by Employee Groups
February 13, 2012

While President Obama's fiscal 2013 budget proposal released today would end a two-year pay freeze for federal employees with a 0.5 percent raise in 2013, it also includes a 1.2% increase in federal employee pension contributions, and the elimination of the special annuity supplement for future employees in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

The White House's budget proposal did not sit well with numerous groups representing federal employees.

National Federation of Federal Employees National President William Dougan stated today, "The first proposal, which requires a 1.2% increase in the amount federal workers contribute to their pensions over three years, will have a serious impact on the retirement security federal employees were promised. Asking FERS employees to pay two and a half times more for their pensions in this strained economic environment could mean the difference between keeping a roof over their heads and going into foreclosure. For example, a federal employee making $50,000 in salary would have to pay an additional $600 each year for their retirement, without any corresponding increase in benefits. In the wake of a two-year pay freeze, which effectively cut workers pay by thousands after inflation, another $600 bill to pay would be difficult to bear."

"I am glad to see a strong call for shared sacrifice among all Americans, particularly millionaires and billionaires," said the president of the National Treasury Employees Union Colleen M. Kelley. "However, I find it disappointing that the proposal includes an increase by federal employees to their pensions of 1.2 percent over three years. While this proposal is similar to the one submitted by the White House to the super committee last fall, it nonetheless fails to recognize the $60 billion contribution to deficit reduction already being made by the federal workforce through the two-year pay freeze."

"Federal employees have already contributed $60 billion with pay freezes," national president of the American Federation of Government Employees John Gage said today. "Its been $60 billion, plus now $27 billion and I dont see any jobs created. The White House is putting money into creating new jobs and then attacking the jobs that we have. Federal employees have already sacrificed more than the president is asking from the big banks."

"Federal employees continue to play a disproportionate role in deficit reduction strategies," commented the Federal Managers Association National President Patricia Niehaus today, "sending the message that those who serve our nation day in and day out are responsible for our government's spending problem."