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Federal News Radio
Bigger is not
better for OPM
By Jeff Neal
July 30, 2015
The Office of Personnel Management is getting the kind of attention
that most federal agencies never want. The data breach has people
questioning the competence of OPM’s staff and leaders, and asking why
OPM exists in the first place.
So many people have been affected, and in such a personal and lasting
way, that business-as-usual is simply not a viable option. So what does
something other than business-as-usual look like?
OPM says its mission is “…to recruit, retain and honor a world-class
workforce for the American people.” Although OPM is small when judged
by the standards of Defense, Homeland Security, VA and other
Departments, but with 5,500 employees and a budget of $2 billion, it is
considered to be a “large” federal agency.
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A deep dive into those numbers offers some surprising insights. When
combined with a look at OPM’s history and how it operates, I believe it
shows a clear path forward for OPM that can return the agency to
credibility and effectiveness in its core mission.
The Numbers
That $2 billion in OPM’s 2015 budget contains a surprisingly small
amount of appropriated money. More than $1.6 billion is from the OPM
revolving fund and $118 million comes from Trust Fund accounts.
The revolving fund includes revenue and expenses related to background
investigations, USAStaffing, USAJobs, consulting services, and other
services for which OPM charges a fee to agencies.
The majority of revenue and expenses in the revolving fund are
associated with background investigations. Trust dollars come from the
Civil Service Retirement and Disability, Federal Employees Health
Benefits, and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Funds.
Most surprising is the number of dollars and employees associated with
background investigations. More than half of OPM’s money ($1.13
billion) and employees (2,726) are involved in background
investigations...
Read the rest of the article with stats at Federal News Radio
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