Chapter 2115 Newsletter Pendleton, Oregon Officers President Lyle Jensen 541-276-7510 ljensen7510@gmail.com Vice President John Robertson-541-278-1433 & Programs jrobertson@wtechlink.us Legislative Lyle Jensen 541-276-7510 ljensen7510@gmail.com Secretary/Vacant Alzheimer s Colleen Hewes 541-379-6858 butchandcolleen@wtechlink.us Treasurer Bernie Hewes-541-377-2460 butchandcolleen@wtechlink.us Volunteer Rachel Eastman 541-276-1586 racheleastman@charter.net Public Relations Janet Lambert 541-980-3268 Membership...Bernie Hewes-541-377-2460 butchandcolleen@wtechlink.us Service Lois Horton- 541-276-4200 lh888@q.com Sunshine...Rachel Eastman 541-276-1586 racheleastman@charter.net District 2A Representative...Colleen Hewes 541-379-6858 butchandcolleen@wtechlink.us Editor John Robertson 541-278-1433 jrobertson@wtechlink.us Inside this Issue President s Report Page 1 Legislation Page 2 Election Timing Page 4 Chapter Meeting Notes Page 5 Service Report Page 6 Next Meeting Page 8 Elected Officials Page 8 NARFE Congressional Switchboard Page 8 NARFE Websites Page 8 National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association Volume 13 Issue 3 March 2018 President s Report ~ Lyle Jensen In my report last November, I discussed some of the changes that are occurring in NARFE. Change continues in the organization and seems to be happening at a faster pace. A few of the latest "adjustments" facing members include a new vocabulary, job titles, initiatives and election process. Most members expected some degree of organizational transformation as the result of the One Member - One Vote and Optional Chapter Membership votes at the last National Convention. But some of the changes do not have much transparency. As we move forward, it will be incumbent on Chapter Officers to keep all members "in the loop and up to speed" on NARFE changes. Federations were one of the Situation Analysis topics addressed in the October 2017 Strategic Plan. A wide variation and diversity of Federations exists nationally; one size does not fit all. The study committee believed that it is time to rethink the goals and activities of Federations. I have long believed that the Oregon Federation needed to evaluate its role and value to members and Chapters. It should be noted that a portion of the Chapter dues help to fund the Federation. On Feb. 6, I received an e-mail from Linda Silverio, Oregon Federation President. She asked for member input on a series of questions (below) to help "effectively and efficiently" serve members and keep up with the changes occurring in NARFE. 1. As a member what do you expect from the Federation Executive Board? 2. Are we fulfilling this need? 3. What could we do better? 4. What should we "throw out the window"? 5. What am I not asking that I should be asking? We will be addressing these questions at our next meeting. If members outside the Pendleton area have thoughts about these questions and the Oregon Federation, please contact me. One should also note that NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 1
John Dowie, National Secretary-Treasurer, approved the updated Oregon Federation Bylaws. By the time members receive the Chapter newsletter, everyone should have received the March NARFE magazine. You'll note the NARFE PAC cover, PAC contribution envelope and major article about telling our story. March is usually the NARFE PAC month, the campaign to build the members' political Defense fund. Political contributions are essential for effectively gaining access, promoting the NARFE agenda and supporting legislators who support our agenda. In addition, NARFE also is shifting slightly to place emphasis on telling member stories to counter the negative reports against the Federal workforce and retirees. This is important for several reasons. The Federal family continues to face unprecedented threats and attacks on pay, benefits and rights. And this year's mid-term elections present an opportunity to elect a Congress more favorable to our interests. With your support, NARFE intends on raising $1.5 million in member contributions and dispersing at least $1 million for political purposes. I urge each member to use the cardstock magazine cover to make a PAC donation in an amount that you are comfortable with. As usual, the Chapter continues to operate under the concept that PAC contributions are an individual decision and done strictly on a voluntary basis. The program for the March Chapter meeting will feature Jill Johnson, a nurse who has experience with Alzheimer's treatment and care. Be sure to bring your questions. See you at Shari's Restaurant at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 8. Lyle spending caps (of sequestration) by $300 billion above current levels for the next two years. Both defense and domestic programs have increased authorizations to spend additional dollars for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. The budget bill includes significant hurricane and wildfire disaster relief and covered a few other priority funding items. The short term shutdown resulted from Senator Rand Paul's "mini-filibuster" holding up votes over his concern with the $300 billion spending increase included in the budget deal. Second, the bill extends current FY2018 funding for another six weeks (another Continuing Resolution) that funds the government through March 23. The legislation should provide lawmakers the necessary time to finalize the details for appropriations since topline spending numbers have been agreed to. However, much work remains to be done as Congress has made only limited progress on appropriations bills. The House has passed all of its measures in two packages; in the Senate, none of the bills have reached a floor vote. Observers think that appropriations are likely to come in the form of one bill tying together the 12 regular appropriations bills. And third, the budget deal also temporarily L EGISLATION By Lyle Jensen On Feb. 9, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law a two year bipartisan spending agreement ending a nine hour early morning government shutdown. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 accomplishes three key priorities. First, the bill increases (Continued on page 3) NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 2
LEGISLATION (Continued from page 2) suspended the debt ceiling for more than a year, until March 1, 2019. From the Federal community perspective, the key point is that the spending agreement did not require cuts to Federal pay and benefits as offsets for spending increases (lifting the budget caps as has been done in the past). NARFE National President Richard Thissen comments that "with the release of the two year budget deal, Federal employees and retirees receive some much needed relief" from all of the threats to pay and benefits, and threats of sequestration offsets and shutdowns. NARFE also sees the deal as a big victory for the Federal community and a powerful demonstration of NARFE's grassroots efforts making a difference. NARFE thanks all members who remained vigilant and advocated for the Federal community in this latest fight. Last month's newsletter and the February NARFE magazine discussed the upcoming FY2019 budget process. NARFE has predicted that the greatest threat to Federal communities' earned pay and benefits lies in the FY2019 budget process. On Feb. 12, the first step was taken as the President submitted the Administration's budget for next year. In general, President Trump calls for big spending hikes in defense, border enforcement and infrastructure, and big spending cuts in most everything else. The Trump FY19 budget would kill or slash dozens of Federal programs; the budget includes cutting $1.7 trillion from Medicare and other social programs. NARFE's predictions seem to be coming true. NARFE has noted that this Administration's budget request is a continuation of unprecedented attacks on the earned pay and benefits of our nation's public servants. The Administration's FY2019 budget recommendations amount to $152.5 billion in cuts to earned Federal benefits. Specific proposals include (many of which we have seen before): Eliminating COLAs for current and future FERS retirees, and reducing COLA for CSRS retirees by 0.5 percent each year from what it would have been. When combined, the change in COLAs would cost Federal retirees $50.2 billion over 10 years and much more thereafter. The proposal would leave retirees insufficiently protected against rising inflation and increasing health care premiums. Federal employees covered by FERS would see employee contributions to their annuities increase by one percent per year for the next six years without any corresponding benefit increase. This proposal would cost FERS employees $68.7 billion over 10 years and more thereafter. The proposal amounts to a six percent pay cut for current employees and would increase the pay gap between public and private sector pay. Freezing Federal civilian employee pay in calendar year 2019. The military would receive a 2.6 percent increase. Eliminating the FERS Annuity Supplement for new retirees, including those forced to retire early such as Federal law enforcement officers and firefighters. This would cost Federal retirees $18.7 billion over the next 10 years. Reducing the rate of return on the TSP G Fund. The proposal would cost Federal employees and retirees as well as military personnel and veterans $8.9 billion over the next 10 years. Basing Federal pensions for new retirees on the average of the highest five years of salary instead of the highest three. Cost to Federal retirees would be $5.9 billion over 10 years. Reducing total time off by combining sick and annual leave into one "paid time off" category. The proposal has the potential to decrease annuities as unused sick leave is counted towards creditable service. Reducing working and retirement age benefits for Federal workers disabled through their service. Cost to Federal retirees in this category amounts to $117 million over 10 years. Changing the formula for setting the government's contribution toward FEHB premiums (currently (Continued on page 4) NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 3
LEGISLATION (Continued from page 3) averaging 72 percent) to make the contribution variable depending on the plan's quality ratings. Under the proposal, the government's contribution would range between 65 and 75 percent depending on the plan's score in the FEHB Program Plan Performance Assessment, which includes 19 measures of health outcomes, quality and efficiency. The proposal is a variant of one previously proposed to increase the government's share by general inflation. Since health care costs are rising faster than general inflation, more of the premium costs would be shifted to enrollees. The government would slowly "save" $2.8 billion over the next 10 years. (Fedweek report 2/21/28). Funding a study to explore the potential benefits to moving to a defined contributions retirement plan for future employees or permitting current employees to transfer out of the existing system (FederalNewsRadio (FNR) report 2/12/18). Various observers believe civil service reform is likely to happen. Good government organizations and academics prepared transition papers prior to the election, in which they recommended that the next President work with Congress to design and implement comprehensive civil service reform. Members of Congress have also expressed interest in reform. The question is what the reform looks like. President Trump's budget contains a mixed bag of numerous recommendations about reshaping the workforce and the compensation system, but with fewer details. In addition to those listed above, several proposals caught my attention, including: "Slow the frequency" of within-grade step increases in the General schedule and increase performancebased pay. Provide for non-competitive salaries for higher demand occupations (the better solution would be to rethink the entire job classification and pay system (Jeff Neal, FederalNewsRadio column, 2/20/18)). Proposed changes in hiring and dismissal procedures to empower Federal managers with greater flexibility. The Budget repeats the Administration's often-stated desire to make it easier for agencies to discipline employees. Increase accountability using a variety of measures. Create a $50 million central fund that would pay for innovative ideas to help meet recruitment, retention and re-skilling changes in the government. Increase the budget buyout payment to $40,000. One might assume that many of the Administration's proposals would be incorporated in the House budget process, as they were in 2017. However, observers note that many proposals from the Administration contain recommendations that never see the light of day after Congress finishes the subsequent appropriations process and passes a spending bill into law. Pressure to find "savings" may have been reduced in light of the Bipartisan Budget Act which raised prior spending caps. In addition, Mike Causey (in his FNR column of 2/8/18) indicates the real "saving grace" for now is the mid-term elections and the House and Senate work schedule, a minimum amount of time to do anything. The House calendar shows only 121 working days this year available to accomplish their work. To ensure success in fighting off these attacks, NARFE urges members to contact their legislators and tell them to reject the unprecedented cuts and any attempt to reduce the earned pay and benefits of the Federal community. E-mails can be sent to our legislators through NARFE's Legislative Action Center on the NARFE's website. Through the first four months of the count toward the 2019 COLA, the index stands at +0.94 percent, following a big increase in January of 0.58 points in the inflation index. The index has fallen in two of the previous three months. ARFE'S NEW ELECTION TIMELINE N By Lyle Jensen (Continued on page 5) NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 4
ELECTION TIMING... (Continued from page 4) The wheels are in motion on NARFE's new election process and timeline. The Bylaws Committee has met and has produced a report. Candidate statements for National office have also been published in the March NARFE magazine (pages 52-64). Four candidates are running for National President, two for National Secretary-Treasurer, and Rich Wilson is running again for Region IX V.P. Key points in the timeline include the following summary: March 1-June 30: Candidates send out limited additional information via NARFE e-mail. April 2018 issue: Bylaw and Resolutions Committee Report published in NARFE magazine. May 10, 2018: Internet voting sites live. Announcements to those with e-mail addresses on file. May 2018 issue: Advocacy program published in NARFE magazine. June 2018 issue: Ballot inserted into NARFE issue. Voting instructions included in magazine. June 30, 2018: Voting ends. All mail ballots must be received by this date. Subsequent ballots may be needed. Early July 2018: Election results to authorized personnel. If runoffs are needed, the same Internet and paper voting procedures would be used in August and September. Voting is expected to be fully completed by September 30, 2018. If there are any questions about any of this, please give me a call or e-mail and I will attempt to find the answer(s). M inutes of NARFE Meeting... February 8, 2018 Meeting called to order by President Jensen at 11:42. January meeting notes approved as published in the February Newsletter. Presidents Report: Working on a new voting procedure that aligns with one member one vote. Needs to be done since voting previously took to take place at conventions, which have been eliminated. You will be able to find candidates statements in the NARFE Magazine. The April or May editions will contain many proposals that are to be voted on. There is a 180 page book that describes them that is available on the website. A ballot will be in the June magazine that can be used along with voting on the website. Voting will end June 30. Linda Silverio has five questions regarding what is the value of the Federation, which we will discuss a the next meeting. Legislation: The Senate funding bill has more funding for the military, the Opiod problem, the VA and other programs that would increase the deficit to over one trillion dollars. It does not address DACA or immigration questions. There is expected to be a discussion to suspend the debt limit until 3/19. Ryan supports the Senate bill. A possible gov t shut down could happen again in March when the new CR expires. Treasurer's Report: Current balance $2,386.58 plus about $10 in petty cash. Paid our Federation membership tax of $110. Membership Report: The Oregon Federation has lost 52 members. Materials were passed out to each attending member to encourage recruiting of new NARFE and chapter member this month. Volunteer Report: January had 265 hours reported. Alzheimer's: $412.35 plus $37.75 collected today. Public Relations: Janet was sick and unable to contact the paper. Get will soon please, we miss you. Sunshine: No report Service: New Medicare cards will be issued between Continued on page 6 NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 5
Meeting Minutes (Continued from page 5) April and June of this year. Program: Harriot Isom, a retired Career Foreign Service Officer, never thought she would be speaking about the decimation of her profession. Harriot Isom spoke about the status of the Department of State and North Korean relations: She also provided several handouts: Kim Jong-un s Influential Sister to Visit South Korea for Olympic Ceremony, Pence s toughest task in Asia: Repair ties with South Korea, Victor Cha: Giving North Korea a bloody nose carries a huge risk to Americans, Disagreement on North Korea policy derails White House choice for ambassador to South Korea, The Next War. If anyone wants a copy please let me know. Her discussion of the State Department, noted reductions in funding and size. The budget has been cut about 30%. Buy outs of $25,000 have been offered. This will result in the largest dismantling of the foreign service ever. The reduction has resulted in staff doing clerical work. With each change of administration all ambassador s submit letters of resignation. With the Trump administration many ambassadors were asked to leave even before the inauguration took place. This was a hardship on many families due to a 3 day time frame. Historically there has been only a partial turnover that allowed for consistency over time. With the large turnover under this administration there has been a significant loss of consistency. Trump s position is that he is the only one who counts and doesn t need help. Tillerson Secretary of State (ex-ceo of Exxon) wants to run the State Department like a business. However, that model does not work well when your dealing with nations. He appears to adjust his work based on Trump s latest Tweets. Diplomacy is a profession and what is used to carryout policy. You need to have soft power in many cases to be successful. In other words convincing rather than trying to force nations to do what you want. A good diplomat has expertise in the country assigned. Must know the language, culture and customs and must have extensive training. With the change in personnel foreign Gov ts don t know who to talk to. As a result Germany is now considered the top rated power. Russia and China are now better able to assert themselves due to the current inconsistencies within the state department. Currently 60% of the state department employees have 10 years of less experience. The proposed ambassador to South Korea was rejected because he was not supportive of the use of preemptive force on North Korea. This goes to show how the current administration is thinking about North Korea. New Business: There are six $1,000 dollar scholarships available. There will be an article in next months newsletter. The application process is on the website. Adjournment at 1:15. Respectfully submitted by John Robertson. ERVICE REPORT By Lyle Jensen S NARFE Scholarships The deadline for NARFE's scholarship is near. Applications must be completed online no later than March 21, 2018. This is the only way that applications will be accepted this year. Currently, twenty $1,000 scholarships will be awarded in 2018. As in the past, the key eligibility criteria include: the applicant must be a child, grandchild or great-grandchild of a NARFE member; must be a high school senior planning to attend college, fulltime, in the fall/winter of 2018; must have a grade point of 3.0 or better; and must provide academic, community or professional references. The applicant must also complete an essay on a specific topic that will be revealed on the scholarship application. Scholarship-specific information and an application can be found on the NARFE website, NARFE.org, or the Federal Employees Education and Assistance Fund at FEEA.org. Please note that the scholarship award does happen, but one must apply - the Chapter had a winner several years ago. Federal Benefits Institute Webinars (Updated report from the January newsletter) The NARFE Federal Benefits Institute is a member-only resource designed to help NARFE members take charge of their Federal benefits and guarantee a secure future. Members have access to live webinars, on-demand sessions, white papers and others resources on the NARFE website. NARFE webinars are designed to provide benefits and retirement answers to the Federal community. They are presented by experts in the field of Federal benefits and retirement. Each webinar and following Q&A session is free for NARFE members. One must register on the NARFE website to "attend" the webinar. NARFE has announced its schedule for upcoming webinars through July. (All webinars start at 11:00 a.m. PT.) The next webinar is March 22 - Social Security and Feds: What You Need to Know. The webinar will be presented by James Marshall, Deputy Director of the Insti- Continued on page 7 NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 6
SERVICE REPORT (Continued from page 6) tute. Four additional programs will be presented through July: April 26 - TSP: Maximizing Your Retirement Savings May 24 - How Much Do YOU Need for a Secure Retirement? June 21 - Steps to a Speedy Federal Retirement July 26 - Survivor Benefits: Ensure Your Peace of Mind All past webinars are archived on the NARFE website. If you missed a given program, one can still access a previously recorded webinar, Q&A transcripts and slides. TSP Withdrawal Changes (From FedWeek report 2/13/18; also see March NARFE magazine, pages 26-32-Opening Up New Options) The TSP continues to work on carrying out changes in withdrawal policies enacted into law late in 2017. But the TSP has offered no schedule for when they will kick in. Congress last year passed that law on the TSP's suggestion out of concern that high percentages of investors transfer their money out of the program, commonly into IRAs, after separation to have more flexibility in their withdrawals. Changes include allowing more than one partial withdrawal after separation for retirement or other reasons; allowing more than one "age-based" withdrawal for those still working after age 59-1/2; and creating more ways to take "substantially equal" withdrawals, including to change the amount at any time rather than just once a year and to take payouts quarterly or annually in addition to monthly. The law gave the TSP two years to put the changes into place; the TSP said it intends to beat that deadline but that it doesn't "have a specific date to announce." For the meantime, it said, withdrawals remain subject to traditional policies. However, those already taking monthly "substantially equal" withdrawals will be eligible for the new policies when they take effect. Substantial programming changes and form revisions have to be made just to make it possible for participants to take advantage of the new options. And many publications and web pages will need to be changed to reflect the new policies and procedures. "Also, as a government agency, we have to publish any policy decisions that are necessary to implement new legislation in publicly accessible regulations." It also mentions for the first time a planned change that was not part of the law but that the TSP will carry out under its own authority: allowing account holders who have both traditional and Roth balances to specify how much of a partial withdrawal they want taken from each type of balance. Under current policy, withdrawals must be taken proportionally from each. New Medicare Cards The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is required to remove Social Security numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards by April 2019. A new, unique Medicare Number will replace the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on each new Medicare card. Starting in April 2018, CMS will begin mailing new Medicare cards to all people with Medicare. (Recipients will be able to check the status of card mailings in their area on Medicare.gov in April.) Oregon is on the schedule for April-June 2018, so be on the lookout and do not accidentally throw the card away. OPM Seeks to Cut FEHB Program Costs (From FederalNewsRadio.com 1/29/18) FEHB program premiums have risen steadily and averaged over six percent for each of the last three years. Therefore, OPM is again encouraging FEHBP carriers to find ways to cut their costs for the next year. The concern also stems form the fact that health care plans' enrolled population is growing older. On Jan. 23, OPM sent out its annual "call letters" to insurance providers. OPM has developed an agency strategic objective to improve the quality of healthcare received by enrollees in FEHB plans, increase the affordability of FEHB plans and enhance the portfolio of available FEHB plans to increase the proportion that offer high quality at an affordable cost, said Alan Spielman, director of health care and insurance for OPM. The letters typically establish the general guidelines and policy goals that OPM has for its health insurance program for each upcoming year. The agency s 2018 letter mentions a specific agency strategy that balances innovation, quality and affordability well into the next decade. For 2019, OPM wants FEHB carriers to consider how they could change existing plans or introduce completely new plan options. Specifically, OPM suggests: Changing cost sharing for high-value and low-value benefits to ensure participants are getting the best value for their money, Implementing high-performance tiered provider networks that offer reduced cost sharing for participants who choose to participate in that kind of network, Cutting cost sharing when participants manage chronic conditions or use creative providers and partnerships to get more efficient health care, Using online portals to communicate and engage with participants, and Consider innovative models or evidence-based management tools. Beyond its call for cost savings, OPM is also encouraging its FEHB carriers to continue addressing the opioid epidemic, and is encouraging FEHB carriers to consider how they can keep prescription drug costs low. Prescription drugs accounted for 26 percent of FEHBP costs in 2016, according to OPM. NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 7
John Robertson 45217 Best Road Pendleton, OR 97801 Address Service Requested NARFE Chapter 2115 Next Meeting. Thursday, March 8th, 1130 am Location. Sharis Program: Jill Johnson Alzheimer s, What We Know ELECTED OFFICIALS U.S. Senate Ron Wyden: 541-962-7691 La Grande contact: Kathleen Cathey kathleen_cathey@wyden.senate.gov FAX 541-963-0885 U.S. Senate...Jeff Merkley: 541-608-9102 FAX - Amy Amrheim U.S. Representative Greg Walden: 541-624-2400 FAX 541-624-2400 La Grande contact:tucker Billman Tucker.Billman@Mail.House.Gov NARFE Congressional Switchboard... 866-220-0044 (This is a toll free number) Ask for your Representative or Senator White House..www.whitehouse.gov (888-225-8418) NARFE...National Office www.narfe.org Oregon Federation www.narfe.org/or NARFE Chapter 2115 Newsletter Volume 13 Issue 3 8