The Post's Stephen Barr is the author of The Federal Diary, which runs Sunday through Friday in the Metro section. Steve has been a reporter and editor at The Post since 1979, including stints as Federal Page editor, congressional editor and a staff writer covering the federal bureaucracy. He takes the column live to answer your questions Wednesdays at noon ET.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Stephen Barr: Greetings, all. Federal agencies are closing their doors on a staggered basis this afternoon in hopes that early dismissals of employees will ease traffic congestion for pre-Inaugural events. Now, I just looked out the window and we have some snow whipping down the streets. Shaping up to a truly fun day! Still, federal employees can expect Washington to heat up in the next few weeks--the president will give his State of the Union address and release a fiscal 2006 budget that is widely predicted to cut into agency spending. Now, on to the questions.
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Mayo, Md.:
Well, do not be standing in the doorway when this happens - "Agencies to Stagger Closing Times Today to Help Commute" - I do not recall it ever being of any help.
Stephen Barr: Yes, you sure wouldn't want to be in the way of the stampede out the door! Still, anything that helps clear out E Street and starts traffic moving earlier down Constitution should help. D.C. bridges, and some Metro subway stops, are bottlenecks.
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Washington, D.C.:
Any word on when the US Dept of Justice is closing today -- and in particular, the Office of Justice Programs at 810 7th Street, NW (in Chinatown)?
Stephen Barr: According to a list provided OPM, Justice Department plans to stick to normal business hours today. I'm assuming employees who are being given administrative leave will hear about it through their e-mail and phone systems.
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Fairfax, Va.:
Who at OPM has the ultimate power to send federal employees home/close the government due to bad weather?
Stephen Barr: The OPM director. The call is usually made after consultation with tranportation, weather and regional officials.
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Arlington, Va.:
So, has OPM and DoD made a mess out of SES pay? What does that say about DHS and NSPS?
Stephen Barr: Perhaps too early to judge. Any new pay system requires a lot of up front explanation and communication. OPM got the rules out late in the year and, I think, has not been able to drill its message down deep into agencies. So you get the Defense memo of last week that probably should have been more carefully worded. As for DHS and NSPS, the challenge is only larger to get it right coming out of the starting blocks.
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Falls Church, Virginia:
Your article yesterday told us about appointees in the Pentagon receiving higher salaries than career executives. Are the appointees at HUD, State, CIA and Homeland Security doing the same thing?
washingtonpost.com: At Defense, Career Executives Can Expect Less Than Appointed Colleagues (Post, Jan. 18)
Stephen Barr: I don't know what is happening regarding pay raises being provided at other agencies and how comparisons will be drawn between appointees and career executives. SES raises are supposed to be based on job performance, so I would expect that to apply equally in both categories.
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Downtown Washington, D.C.:
Hi-I'm confused as to the closing of various Federal agencies. I work for a certain government office that is only dismissing one hour early, which seems to be pointless in the face of the massive closures of streets surrounding my particular building. I saw in your column that most of the other agencies are letting out between noon and 3 p.m. -- why are there such inconsistencies, especially for agencies with buildings along the parade route and the Mall? Thanks.
washingtonpost.com: Agencies to Stagger Closing Times Today to Help Commute (Post, Jan. 19)
Stephen Barr: The closures are not uniform because OPM left it to the judgment of each agency as to when to close today. OPM did not want to call for a shutdown of all agencies in D.C. today when many of them are far away from the Constitution Avenue/White House area. OPM pointed out that the rules permit all sorts of flexible arrangements--work at home, unscheduled leave, etc.--and left it to agency bosses to make a decision.
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College Park, Md.:
I'm currently a student at the University of Maryland and looking to graduate in May. For the past 7 months I have been working for a government agency under a student program. Lately I've been hearing many people say that I shouldn't leave and try to get a permanent position because it is extrememly difficult to get back in the federal government once you leave (without career status). So my question is with more and more agencies contracting out work to the private sector is it best to stay with the federal government or go to these companies that remain contractors to large agencies for many years at a time?
Stephen Barr: These are individual decisions, of course. But if you are in a student program and can wait for conversion to career status, I would try to achieve that objective. Then you'll have an easier time moving back and forth between the private and federal sectors. Also, I would not worry about having my job contracted out; it does not seem to be a large percentage of the workforce.
Anybody out there with a thought to share on this query?
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Largo, Md.:
Where can I go to find the 2005 Special Rate Table for IT Professionals?
Stephen Barr: On the OPM web site, at:
http://apps.opm.gov/ssr/tables/index.cfm
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Alexandria, Va.:
Is OPM going to update the Special Salary Rate tables? As a Federal IT worker(12 step 2) I'm currently going to be paid less than a comparable level on the regular GS scale after the January raise kicks in. Will OPM ultimately give the special salary rates the full 3.71 percent raise in cases like this?
Thanks!
Stephen Barr: OPM just did. The special rates tables increased by 2.5 percent. OPM and agencies seem confused as to whether higher rates are needed to recruit and retain IT employees, so basically OPM opted to pass along the general increase approved by Congress.
In cases where the locality pay tables provide higher compensation than the special rates tables, the employee gets the locality adjustment.
As I understand it, agencies have to make a business case that they need robust special rates, and they are not doing it.
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Falls Church, Va.:
To the student who is working at a federal agency as an intern I would suggest that she talk with student programs prior to leaving and express her interest in a career appointment. If her evaluation is stellar she should have no problem.
Stephen Barr: Thanks. Good advice.
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Bethesda, Md.:
How do I go about guesstimating how much "pension" money I would receive as a FERS employee? I've looked at the web sites, but it it's not clear to me.
I have over $100K in my TSP, I toss in the maximum permitted by law, I'm 37, and I don't anticipate retiring until I'm 67 (from working world), and I realize that a pension and social security is on par with the tooth fairy, but indulge me anyway.
HR is no help. I've tried asking.
Stephen Barr: Don't despair. I'm betting Social Security will be around for a few more decades.
Here's some ideas: Get your annual benefit estimate from the Social Security Administration. They should mail one to you every year a few months before your birthday.
As for your FERS pension, the formula is fairly simple--1 percent of High 3 salary for each year of service (in most cases.) High 3 is your highest three consecutive years of salary, averaged out. You might have to project what your salary in your last three years of employment might be.
Then try to estimate your TSP account; go to the TSP web site and give their calculator a try.
If that doesn't work, think about hiring a financial planner. Best of luck!
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Washington, D.C.:
I am planning on retirement from federal government this year under CSRS. I also have 401 TSP account. What is the age when you can begin to draw on it without penalty? In your opinion which is better, disbursement of money monthly or roll into another IRA account?
Stephen Barr: You can start withdrawing the money without penalty at age 59 and one-half years and after retirement.
Before retirement, you can take an "age based" withdrawal after that 59.5 without penalty.
As for the withdrawal options, that is a personal call that depends on your other investments, the size of your account and how you expect to use the money. It would probably be worth talking to a financial adviser when the time comes.
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Gaithersburg, Md.:
In November, your column referenced federal travelers being able to receive compensatory time for being required to travel on Sunday to be at a Monday meeting, for example. Have the regulations been written yet? If so, could you direct me to them. I was told that you must be below a GS-9 in order to request the comp time. Thanks.
Stephen Barr: By my reading of the law approved by Congress, OPM has until Jan. 28 to get implementing regulations published. I strongly doubt that OPM will limit eligibility by grade level.
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Locality Pay:
Can you explain how locality pay is determined? Houston, lately mentioned as a "most affordable for singles" city, gets HIGHER locality pay than the DC Metro area. My guess this is Tom DeLay pork, but it seems skewed (enormously), owing to the significantly higher COL across the board here.
Stephen Barr: Actually, you can't blame this on Tom DeLay. Houston has been a special case since locality pay started. Basically, the system is based on comparing certain federal vs. private-sector jobs in an area. Houston skews high because of its concentration of scientists, engineers and other highly paid workers in oil industry and the computer sciences industry there. Think of NASA vs. Exxon competing for talent.
Locality pay, I might add, is based on wage growth, not on a city's cost of living, housing or other consumer price factors.
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Washington, D.C.:
When you retire from federal service you have options on life insurance coverage. It gradually changes as you age and the cost is reflected in the choice you make. Which is the best option to choose, in your opinion, if you are leaving at young age of 55?
Stephen Barr: Hard to say. You would want to assess your needs for life insurance, which would depend on many factors--house paid off, children's education paid off, etc. As a general rule, you can probably find term life insurance in the commercial market that would be cheaper than FEGLI. But FEGLI has the advantage of acting like a whole-life policy in that it continues to renew as long as you pay the premiums. You would also want to look into whether accumulation of cash value in your insurance policy is important to you. You can't do that with FEGLI, you would have to buy a whole life policy on the commercial market to accomplish that. And that would probably be more expensive than FEGLI.
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Winchester, Va.:
Hello. Was wondering with all the cuts that companies are doing with retirement benefits (ie. healthcare), if you see the Federal government following suit and decreasing the very nice retirement packages they offer. I am more concerned about the NON-military civilian workers. I see more and more of my paycheck going for Federal taxes and would like to see some cuts.
Thanks.
Stephen Barr: Federal retirement benefits could be on the chopping block in this Congress because President Bush is looking for ways to hold down the red ink. But it is difficult to reduce public sector retirement benefits because it requires a change in law and they are often seen as a proxy for lower salaries. Still, these features are favorable when compared with what many private-sector companies are doing these days. So I expect some members of Congress to take a look at federal retirement for deficit-reduction purposes.
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Albany, Ga.:
I'm curious why the Fed Government decided IT folks rate a special pay scale? I and many of my contempories hold masters degrees and licenses as social workers, psychologists and counselors, yet we receive no special pay in our GS ratings.
Stephen Barr: In the late 1990s and during the dot-com boom, agencies found it difficult to recruit IT employees. That, of course, has changed, and some data shows that IT job growth is fairly flat. Still, a number of agencies operate systems that require specialized talent, and there is high demand for cyber-security experts, so I expect the government may want to refine these special rate tables. I'm pretty sure that OPM and the agencies will try to collect some data between now and next year.
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Arlington, Va.:
I've been waiting l5 months for my security clearance. I understand it is in adjudication and has been for 3 or 4 months. Does this mean it is still under investigation and can be denied? What is the average time to process a secret clearance? The job market is so good now for persons with clearances and I'm hoping it won't be much longer.
Stephen Barr: Depending on how complicated your personal history is, the time for investigation can go as long as a year. Yes, a clearance can be denied during adjudication--that is what that phase is all about. Sounds like you're almost at the end of the pipeline, so hang in there, and best of luck!
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Washington D.C.:
My question concerns the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program.
As you know, Executive Order 13318 changed to name of the Presidential Management Intern (PMI) program to the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, the hiring limit was lifted and a Senior Fellows component was added.
To date, however, I have not seen any information on the Senior Fellows piece of the updated program.
When information do have about the implementation of the senior fellows guidance contained in Executive Order 13318?
Thanks
Stephen Barr: As of last month, OPM was planning to issue regulations that would address the senior fellows component of PMF and how PMFers could receive accelerated promotions. You might want to check at this Web site for more information:
www.pmf.opm.gov
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Queens, N.Y.:
Do you have any idea as to when hiring will resume for the Department of Homeland Security? Namely, Customs and Border Protection. Since the hiring freeze is over, are they now waiting until the Homeland Secretary is in place to begin hiring again? I've been waiting over a year and a half and my background and everything is complete.
Stephen Barr: Sorry to hear that. I get complaints about DHS hiring practices and the hiring freeze all the time. DHS is trying to consolidate financial management systems and shift to a system where one DHS agency provides services to another DHS agency for a fee. Unfortunately, some DHS agencies have faced budget shortfalls under this accounting method. Until they get it straightened out, I doubt DHS will do much hiring except for jobs mandated by Congress--such as increases in Border Patrol.
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Arlington, Va.:
This is in response to Winchester, Va. and his/her concern about his/her taxes and those luxurious government retirement plans. I worked in the private sector for 7 years before coming to the government a little over 2 years ago. At best, the government package is equal to private sector benefits. It is certainly not better. As a federal employee, I have less dental coverage, the same amount of holiday and sick leave, and less generous matching from my employer than I did as a private sector employee. I am also making less than 1/2 of my previous salary. I am happy with my choice because I enjoy my job and am pleased to be able to help people (even those who complain about their tax money being spent on my salary), but I really do feel that the federal government retirment package (and benefits package overall) is only OK and is certainly not overly generous. Just like private sector employees, we are now forced to bear the main burden for our retirement funds through our TSP. Nothing luxurious or extravagent about that plan.
Stephen Barr: Thank you, Arlington. Well said!
We'll let that be the last word today. See you here next week for another discussion. Thank you for participating and for taking the time to read this transcript.
And a wish for safe driving and commuting through the snowflakes to all of you!
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