Paul Comisarow, Legislative Chairman
NARFE Chapter (Fauquier)1549
Warrenton, Virginia 20186-7618
November 29, 1997
Today, private money accounts for slightly more than half of the $66 billion spent on nursing home care (long-term care). Almost all of the rest is funded by Medicaid, and is financed by the federal government and the states. The middle class elderly rely on this government program and after they have spent down their assets, Medicaid will pick up the nursing home care bill for the rest of their lives. With the U.S. Congress adjourned, now is a good time to review the current status of long-term care, as it can affect a significant number of the elderly.
For the first time, federal government officials have admitted that its Medicare program shares responsibility with state-run Medicaid system for the public cost of long-term care. Bruce Vladeck, former director of the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), which oversees these two federal programs, earlier this year said that President Clinton's proposed budget (early 1997) provides for the development of an integrated system that will combine dollars from Medicare and Medicaid as needed. The change would end the current fragmented approach, which causes older patients to be "bounced from one site to another," he said. Mr. Vladeck made clear that the President's proposal is an initial step in a long, complicated, and intense political process. One major hurdle will be developing the political support favoring the integrated approach among policymakers who have long been in a stalemate over any system change between the federal and state governments. There are also a number of entrenched lobby groups that will resist any changes from a known system.
Mr. Vladeck emphasized that the revamped system is not an expansion of Medicare, but would be financed from savings of federal funds being spent inefficiently. Although for many years, HCFA has stated that long-term care was not a Medicare problem, the program's spending on continuing care has grown to the present range of $17 billion to $20 billion a year. "We are in the business whether we want to be or not," Vladeck stated. The average Medicare patient receiving home care now gets about 75 visits a year - that's long-term care service. Not only are Medicare-covered hospitalizations often needed by nursing home patients, but an increasing amount of ancillary charges for the roughly one million nursing home residents on Medicaid comes from Medicare's Part B outpatient program. Savings from billions of Medicare dollars now being spent can be used to improve and probably expand the kind of services available. For example, the HCFA estimates that Medicare would save from $10 billion to $12 billion in six years by converting payment for home care to a prospective payment approach. The annual cost for home health care is now rising by 10% to 15% per year.
Much of the technical groundwork for achieving the seamless payment long sought by advocates and professionals in aging is now completed or well underway. For example, the new uniform needs assessment instrument is in its second generation of field testing. Mr. Vladeck explains that after years of testing and designing different patient assessment forms for hospital discharge planners, nursing home nurses and those processing initial home care admission evaluations, the HCFA staff realized "we are asking the same questions... maybe we don't need three separate sets of instruments but can begin to move toward an integrated system."
Additionally, the need to integrate family, and other informal caregivers into the formal system is important. For a number of reasons, the current system has either ignored or rolled right over them in most of the existing programs. It is not only economically irrational in the long run, or irrational in terms of people getting the best kinds of service, but it is also fundamentally incorrect for a cost effective system.
As the government wrestles with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security issues, the integration of long-term care issues makes it that much more of a tangled web. However, to work towards an integrated long-term care system as a goal makes sense from an administrative and distribution of care standpoint. Additionally, it gives politicians a way to "enhance" the existing healthcare system provided by the government, which would further allow them to politically justify the cost changes that might be necessary for such a program to be implemented.
Should the government adopt some type of integrated plan to include certain long-term care benefits, it is likely that private insurance carriers will make modifications to their long-term care insurance contracts. Thus, we may end up with long-term care insurance coverage (at a lower cost) whose benefits are analogous to Medicare supplemental plans, which are designed to dovetail with current Medicare benefits. All of these issues can have a significant impact on one's retirement thinking and planning. When the U.S. Congress convenes next year and with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security issues all under study and possible legislative action, the elderly especially need to keep current on the progress of these issues in Congress. We all need to support our lobbyist in their efforts to obtain an improved long-term care system. So, maybe with 1998 being a Congressional election year, and some early planning by many organizations towards the same goals, the elderly can benefit from a giant-step forward to a better integrated long-term care system. If not next year, then in the near term future. Change is coming and we all need to be involved if the elderly are to get a more efficient people oriented long-term care system.
Friday, December 5, 1997; Page D02
The most-asked question about the federal health benefits program may be:
Why are dental benefits so poor?
Some of the program's health maintenance organizations pay about half ofdental bills. Fee-for-service plans generally pay much less of the dental tab. That is also true of most private-sector company health plans. Dental benefits are the weak area. How come?
The answer in most cases is a combination of cost and priorities. For example:
Group health plans -- which offer the lowest premiums -- must cover everybody in the group. A large cradle-to-grave federal health programcovers newborn babies and 100-year-old retirees -- and everybody in between. In a large plan, most people don't absolutely have to have majordental work each year. Many more will have a serious accident, or a baby. Or suffer a stroke. Or a heart attack. Or get cancer or AIDs. Or be hit with some other catastrophic medical event that -- without health coverage -- could ruin them financially.
When the government carves up the benefits pie, among the key considerations is keeping costs and premiums low. It must decide what kind of coverage people need most vs. what they would like to have but can live without.
It is a tough call that the Office of Personnel Management has to make each year when the 400 plans in the federal health program submit bids for what they plan to cover (or would like to cover) and premiums they would like to charge.
When Congress set up the federal health program in 1950, it told OPM to provide basic coverage for the most people, provide catastrophic coverage for everybody and to keep costs down. In a cradle-to-grave program, making everybody happy isn't just difficult, it is impossible.
In past years, several plans offered pretty good dental benefits. But those benefits often had strings, like you had to belong to the plan for a year or two before benefits kicked in. Most of those plans -- such as the one formerly offered by the National Treasury Employees Union -- are no longer in business. They faded for several reasons, but mostly because they paid out more than they took in.
In 1987, OPM made a calculated decision to freeze dental benefits. Congress has told OPM to hold down costs to policyholders and to the taxpayers, who pay about 72 percent of the total premium.
Walton Francis, editor of Washington Consumers' Checkbook, says dental benefits should not be the reason anyone picks a health plan. He recommends checking out a couple of plans that best suit your overall needs, then going with the one with the best dental benefits.
In almost every case, he says, the best benefits are in HMOs, with the best deals found in Aetna, CIGNA, George Washington high option and Prudential. But even the best, if you are looking for total coverage, isn't very good in this case.
Health, Retirement Update
At 9 a.m. tomorrow on WUST radio (1120 AM), Ed Flynn, OPM's associate director for retirement and insurance, will talk about how those two programs work and how to get the most from them. At 10 a.m., benefits specialist Jerry Sandaker will discuss how federal benefits fit into the financial, tax and estate planning of workers and retirees.
1998 Pay Chart
Worldwide Assurance for Employees of Public Agencies has a first-come, first-served offer: free wallet-size cards with the 1998 federal pay scale on one side and a calendar on the other. These always go quickly, so to get one, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope quickly to: WAEPA, 7651 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Va. 22043.
Friday, Dec. 5, 1997
The Free Weekly Electronic Newsletter for Federal Employees
Wednesday, December 3, 1997
We encourage you to print out a copy of this FEDweek message and share it with others by passing it along, posting it, emailing or faxing it. Any federal or postal employee or retiree can sign up for a free email subscription. We invite them to visit our website at http://www.fedweek.com to sign up for office and/or home email delivery. Remember, FEDweek subscribers are always the first to "get the word."
About to Retire? Guidance on New Basis Recovery Rule The Office of Personnel Management has issued an official explanation of a new tax rule that goes into effect for annuities commencing after December 31, 1997. Benefits Administration Letter 97-113, November 28, 1997, outlines the situation (reported in FEDweek last issue). The rule dictates how much of a federal annuity is taxable. (The National Association of Retired Federal Employees has up to date information about the new rule. Call 703-838-7760 and ask for Bob Normandie.)
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NARFE Washington Letter
Tuesday December 2, 1997
Volume 14, No 4
Two months into the new fiscal year, the last of the 13 appropriation bills was enacted. President Clinton signed the final appropriation bill on November 26, bringing work on the FY '98 budget to a formal finish.
On the evening of Thursday, November 13, the House narrowly adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 68, the sine die adjournment resolution, and left Washington for ten weeks. Both chambers return for the second session of the 105th Congress at 12:00 Noon, Tuesday, January 27, 1998. The constitutional requirement that the President report to Congress will be satisfied by the State of the Union address which the President will deliver to a joint session that evening.
The State of the Union and the Republican response to that message will set the political tone and policy agenda for the new year. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), will select the Republican to deliver his party's response. In addition to trade and campaign finance reform, listen for new rhetoric about entitlement "reform". Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently exhorted a Senate Task Force to begin work soon to fix the looming problems in Social Security.
A 17 member National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare should be announced in the near future. A provision of the FY '98 Budget Reconciliation Act called for this Commission to be named by December 1, 1997 and report their recommendations to Congress by March, 1999.
At this writing, Senators Bob Kerrey (D-NE) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) have been officially designated as appointees of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). Majority Leader Lott named Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Phil Gramm (R-TX), along with health care specialist Deborah Steelman and Illene Gordon, a Medicare beneficiary from his home state. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) has tapped Reps. Bill Thomas (R-CA), Mike Bilirakis (R-FL), and Greg Ganske (R-IA), along with health care executive Samuel Howard. House Minority Leader Gephardt (D-MO) and the President have not yet announced their choices. Republican Congressional leaders and the President must agree upon the Commission chair.
While it is never wise to predict in politics, we are hopeful that 1998 will be a year in which we do not have to dedicate the majority of our legislative efforts to defending current benefits from cost-cutting proposals. The 1997 fiscal year closed with the lowest deficit since 1974. According to the Office of Management and Budget, the deficit for the last year was $22.6 billion, a drop of 92 percent since FY 1992 when the deficit was $290.4 billion. And, as a share of the economy, the deficit was the lowest since 1970, standing at 0.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
If these healthy economic indicators remain steady, the President's FY '99 budget could recommend no more than a "steady on course", and much of the effort generally necessary for the annual budget battle could be turned to advancing other issues on our legislative agenda. However, we must remain alert to the fact that some Members of Congress may use next year's anticipated spike in the deficit to renew attempts to pare away at federal retirement and/or health benefits
Older Americans Act funding was one of the points of disagreement between the House and Senate during the appropriation process. The compromise reached did not fully satisfy either chamber but does provide inflation protection for vital OAA programs. Senior advocates played a crucial role in this success story.
After low inflation during fiscal 1997 (2.1 percent), the first month of the new fiscal year saw the CPI-W rise only 0.1 percent to an index reading of 158.5 for October 1997. This is 0.4 percent higher than the year's third quarter average base index used for computing retirement COLAs. November's inflation data will be reported December 16th.
Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA) COLAs, for persons who left government service due to on-the-job injuries or illness, are based on calendar year changes in the CPI-W. During the first ten months of 1997, the index rose 1.7 percent, compared with a 3.0 percent rise during the same period last year.
NARFE members who have an opportunity to visit with their Representative or Senators during the current recess, should focus their lobbying efforts on convention adopted resolutions. Five of these have legislative vehicles in the House and were described and charted in the November Retirement Life Cosponsors were updated in the December magazine and the latest House cosponsors will appear in the January issue.
Since the listing in December's Retirement Life (p. 16) NARFE activists have recruited 15 new cosponsors for four of the five NARFE priority bills. Listed by state they are: AR: Hutchinson on HR 2273; CA: Sanchez on HR 2273; CT: Gejdenson on HR 372 and Maloney on HR 2273; FL: Wexler on HR 107 and Hastings on HR 2273; HI: Abercrombie on HR 107; KY: Baesler on HR 2273; MD: Morella on HR 676; MI: Stupak on HR 2273; MS: Thompson on HR 372; NJ: Smith on HR 2273, Payne on HR 107, HR 372 and HR 676; TX: Ortiz on HR 107; WA: A.Smith on HR 676.
Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski (D) introduced the first Senate GPO bill on November 4th. With the introduction of S. 1365, NARFE members can now prod their Senators, as well as their Representative, to champion this important cause. The first cosponsors of this Senate bill are Senators Wendell Ford (D-KY) and Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL).
Just a reminder of our new address and phone numbers: 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria VA 22314-1943. The telephone number is 703/838-7760 and the facsimile number for legislation is 703/838-7782. And now operational-we apologize for the delay-the NARFE Legislative Hotline phone number is 703/838-7780.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GOOD WORK THIS PAST YEAR!
Subject: NARFE Hotline 11/7/97
NARFE Legislative Hotline is generally recorded Fridays if Congress is in session for telephone callers to 1-202/234-0503 and available on the Internet at www.narfe.org
Hello. Welcome to the NARFE Legislative HOTLINE, recorded Friday, November 7th. Taking just 3 minutes of your time, this edition will again provide the HOTLINE phone number for use after November 17th. The current number will provide an update on November 13th. A special edition will recorded as soon after relocation as possible.
As of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, November 13, NARFE Headquarters in Washington, DC, will be officially closed. The new Legislative Hotline telephone number is 703/838-7780. The Hotline, with an end of session edition, should be operational in the Alexandria, Virginia, office on Tuesday, November 18th.
The headquarters address is: 606 North Washington Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314-1943.
Seven of the 13 regular appropriation bills have been signed into law. Two have arrived at the White House and await Presidential action. Three are in House-Senate Conferences and the DC Appropriations bill has not been passed in the Senate.
The second Continuing resolution expires Friday, November 7th. Members of Congress are eager to finish and adjourn.
This unusually early, non election-year adjournment affords NARFE members an opportunity to schedule meetings with your Representative and Senators in local, district and state offices. Call now to arrange an individual or group meeting.
November's issue of Retirement Life has a listing of pending House legislation and details on our efforts to reform the Government Pension Offset. On November 4th, Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, introduced legislation to amend the Government Pension Offset. This NARFE supported GPO bill is S. 1365. Securing additional cosponsors will help move these bills through the legislative process. Since the November Retirement Life went to press, four of the five bills charted have added cosponsors! Thank you and keep up the good work.
Thank you for calling. The Hotline is available by both E-mail and on NARFE's web page on the Internet. All are services of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
Date: Mon, 05 Jun 1995 01:54:29
Subject: NARFE Release re: Move
NARFE Is Moving!
After years of planning, it's finally happening:NARFE is moving to its new headquarters facility in Alexandria, Virginia. As of 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 13, NARFE headquarters in Washington, D.C. will be officially closed. The new address and phone numbers provided in this article will be effective noon on Monday, November 17. The interim time will be spent moving headquarters'office furniture and equipment.
Headquarters' new telephone number is (703) 883-7760. The new Legislative Hotline telephone number is (703) 883-7780. The numbers are very similar, so please be sure to take your time when calling headquarters November 17 and later.
As this bulletin went to press, the phone company had not yet provided the new fax number. That number will be released as soon as possible and listed in the December Retirement Life.. NARFE's toll-free numbers for Membership Records and recruiting information remain the same.
As of November 17, all correspondence must be sent to the new address. To ensure your correspondence reaches headquarters, use the addresses provided below.
NARFE officers and staff met with Washington, D.C. postal representatives. After a productive meeting, the representatives provided the following information that association members must follow in order to expedite mail processing.
Standardized addresses enhance mail processing and delivery and reduce "undeliverable-as-addressed" mail. When mailing correspondence to the national office, be sure to label it:
NARFE
606 N. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314-1943
When mailing correspondence to a specific department, including Retirement Life, the department must appear on the line above "NARFE";for example:
Attn:Department Name
NARFE
606 N. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314-1943
When mailing correspondence to a specific individual, the individual's name must appear on the line above "NARFE";for example:
Attn:Officer/Staff Name
NARFE
606 N. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314-1943
It is essential that each piece of mail be properly addressed with NARFE's name and address. Be sure to use the correct ZIP code, and always put a return address on all correspondence. The Resident Officers and staff are doing their utmost to ensure a smooth transition. Your help, patience and understanding are essential during this time. Thank you in advance for your cooperation-and thank you for providing NARFE headquarters the facilities to serve you better.
Subject: NARFE Hotline 10/31/97
NARFE Legislative Hotline is generally recorded Fridays if Congress is in session for telephone callers to 1-202/234-0503 and available on the Internet at http://www.narfe.org
Hello and welcome. This edition of the NARFE Legislative HOTLINE, recorded Friday, October 31st, will provide the HOTLINE phone number for use after November 17th. The current number will provide an update on November 7th and will be disconnected on Thursday, November 13th.
As of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, November 13, NARFE Headquarters in Washington, DC, will be officially closed. The new Legislative Hotline telephone number is 703/838-7780. The Hotline, with an end of session edition, should be operational in the Alexandria, Virginia, office on Tuesday, November 18th.
The headquarters address is: 606 North Washington Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314-1943.
Seven of the 13 regular appropriation bills have been signed into law. Six are still in the hands of Congress with a November 7th deadline for the temporary Continuing Resolution. The adjournment target is still November 14th.
This unusually early, non election-year adjournment affords NARFE members an opportunity to schedule meetings with your Representative and Senator in local, district and state offices. Call now to arrange an individual or group meeting. November's issue of Retirement Life has a listing of pending House legislation. Securing additional cosponsors will help move these bills through the legislative process. Since that issue was laid out, four of the five bills charted have addedcosponsors! Thank you and keep up the good work.
Thank you for calling. The Hotline is available by both E-mail and on NARFE's web page on the Internet. All are services of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
Subject: FEDWeek Excerpts, 10/29/97
Editor's Note: We encourage you to print out a copy of this FEDweek email message and share it with coworkers by passing it along, posting it, forwarding it or faxing it. Any federal or postal employee or retiree may sign up for a free subscription at our website www.fedweek.com. Agencies, subunits and employee organizations may have FEDweek distributed free to their employees or members, as well, by requesting that service from our circulation department. Simply email John Whitney at whitneyjd@aol.com. Don Mace, Editor/Publisher
Things Looking Up for Offset Help
Chances of gaining relief for thousands of federal employees who are hit by the controversial government pension offset law, which reduces or eliminates Social Security spousal benefits paid to federal retirees, have improved,says a prominent retiree advocate. Charles Jackson, president of the 450,000-member National Association of Retired Federal Employees, says the law is patently unfair. He noted that in the past while bills designed to soften the hit were well-received in the House, the Senate has been relatively unreceptive. That is about to change, he said, noting that Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., now is backing the legislation.
Another Bite of the FERS Switch Apple?
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., may try to resurrect legislation that would provide more than a million federal and postal employees under the old CSRS retirement system to switch an opportunity to the newer FERS system during a special open season next year. President Clinton vetoed the plan. The use of that "line item veto" has prompted a suit by the National Treasury Employees Union, which believes it is unconstitutional. Stevens is pinning his hopes on the court outcome while Mica plans hearings on the switch opportunity.
What the Open Season Rejection Saved
In vetoing the FERS open season provision, the Clinton administration estimated that $854 million and another $1.3 billion in "limited discretionary resources to pay higher retirement benefits" were saved over five years. Clinton also said the money would have been taken from "other priorities, such as pay increases, or essential agency needs."
Subject: NARFE Hotline 10/24/97
Hello. This three minute NARFE Legislative HOTLINE, recorded Friday, October 24th details passage of a shutdown avoiding, second Continuing Resolution. Open season information for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is also featured. The next scheduled HOTLINE is October 31st.
Due to the expiration of the first Continuing Resolution, a second CR was needed to avoid a partial government shutdown. House Joint Resolution 97 was signed into law by President Clinton on Thursday, October 23rd. It provides appropriations for all programs and agencies whose regular appropriations are not yet enacted. This CR runs through November 7th.
The early adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress, now targeted to be November 14, creates an unexpected opportunity for NARFE members to schedule meetings with their Representative and Senators. The November issue of Retirement Life describes five NARFE priorities and the NARFE supported legislation to address them. These are: off-budget, tax parity, health care consumer bill of rights, Medicare penalty and government pension offset. Only NARFE members can convince their own representative to become a cosponsor, a champion of NARFE!
Retirement Life issues in November and December have pull-out sections on the 1997 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Open Season. Open season begins November 10 and runs through December 8. November's pull-out provides some important reminders, questions and answers, and the premiums for nine fee-for-service plans and the eight largest Health Maintenance Organization plans. The December pull-out will have the 1998 benefit changes for fee-for-service plans, new HMO plans for 1998 and those HMOs dropping out of FEHBP in 1998. Information of special interest to Medicare enrollees will be included. October's Retirement Life, at page 14, provided preliminary information about Open Season procedures, including the new toll free number, 1-800/332-9798, to be used for all Open Season transactions.
Subject: Causey Column, 10/22/97
Making the Best of It
Wednesday, October 22, 1997; Page B02
Looking for a low-cost, covers-most-everything health plan?
If so, you can either:
A) Move immediately to Norway. It has a dandy health plan. But no dental coverage, except for children and people completing their military service -- which is mandatory.
There are no premiums, as such. But that is a tad misleading. Premiums(and other state- supported services) are included in the tax bill. Norwegians pay rates that are so high they would give most Americans an immediate heart attack.
Or:
B) Make the best of your existing options here in the United States. If you are a federal worker or retiree, those options are good. Most have the choice of 40 plans and options. And they can change plans (or options) at least once a year. And get full coverage immediately regardless of age or preexisting conditions. Retirees pay the same premiums as young, healthy workers in the same plans. Lifetime coverage includes surviving spouses (sometimes ex-spouses), grandchildren in some cases and disabled adult children.
The government pays about 72 cents of every premium dollar. That means premiums paid by feds and retirees in fee-for-service plans next year will range from $14 every two weeks for low-cost single coverage, or about $37 for family coverage, to $136 every two weeks for high-cost family coverage. Most health maintenance organization premiums are much lower, but the choice is wide.
Premiums next year are increasing an average of 8.5 percent.
The government has done a good job holding down premiums. Insurance plans continue efforts to cut costs. One way is setting up their own preferred provider organizations, or contracting out to give subscribers a PPO option. Doctors and hospitals agree to discounts in order to be included in the PPO network. People who stay in the network may pay only a small($10 to $20 a visit) co-payment. Those who go outside the network pay more. Their plan may cover only a portion (say, 80 percent) of the established usual and customary fee.
Today, the House civil service subcommittee (of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee) is set to approve a catchall bill covering the federal program. Big-money outfits, from the health plans to the American Medical Association, have an interest. Each side says the other's position would hurt policyholders and raise premiums.
Among other things, the bill would make it easier for the Office of Personnel Management to kick out doctors and providers who engage in professional or financial misconduct. It also would let retirees from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which has its own health plan, into the federal employees health program. The most controversial proposal in the bill would require health plans to provide extensive written disclosure of the methods used to secure favorable rates.
Opponents say that provision could raise premiums by increasing administrative costs and making it harder, in some instances, to negotiate discounts.
Backers of the disclosure requirement say it would protect providers, and policyholders, from entering into contracts for rates they do not fully understand.
One thing is certain. Health insurance isn't going to get any cheaper. And the federal health program, which covers 10 million people, including nearly half the folks in this area, helps drive private rates. That's why it is important, to lots of people and to the country's economy, that the good guys prevail.
The trick is deciding which team that is.
Washington Letter.
Friday October 17, 1997
Volume 14, No 3
Millions of older and disabled Americans will receive a 2.1 percent COLA in their January 1998 civil service, military and social security retirement checks. The September CPI-W, released yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, provided the last bit of inflation data needed to tally the amount of the next COLA in federally indexed retirement programs. September's index is 158.3, up 0.3 percent from August's index of 157.8. It was the highest monthly hike since last February, but the 2.1 COLA, effective December 1, will be the lowest inflation adjustment in a decade.
Combined with the CPI-W figures for July and August, last month's index establishes a 1997 third quarter average index of 157.9, which is 2.1 percent higher than last year's third quarter average base index of 154.6. Due to the hard work of NARFE members during this year's budget battle, civil service annuitants will receive their next COLA at the same time as military retirees and social security beneficiaries.
Some annuitants will receive less than a 2.1 percent COLA in their January checks. Former federal employees over age 62 who retired under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will receive a 2 percent COLA, and any one who has retired under either FERS or the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) after November 3, 1996 will have this first COLA prorated to reflect only the months since then that he or she has actually been on the retirement rolls. The actual prorated amounts will appear in the December issue of Retirement Life.
Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA) COLAs, for persons who left government service due to on-the-job injuries or illnesses, are based on calendar year changes in the CPI-W. During the first nine months of 1997 the index has risen 1.5 percent, compared with a 2.8 percent rise during the first nine months of last year.
With COLA equity now on track for the time being, NARFE members should focus their energy and talent on other convention-adopted resolutions. Five of these have legislative vehicles in the House but not in the Senate. They are: Off Budget (H.R. 107), Consumer Managed Care Bill of Rights (H.R. 337), Tax Parity (H.R. 372), Medicare Penalty (H.R. 676) and Government Pension Offset (H.R. 2273). In addition, legislation to ameliorate, but not repeal, the Windfall Elimination Provision (H.R. 2549) has been introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA).
The November issue of Retirement Life will have a snapshot of how well NARFE members have done recruiting champions (cosponsors) for the first five bills listed. Recruiting champions begins with letters, postcards, petitions, telephone calls and visits to Congressional district offices. In these contacts with your Congressional delegation ask him or her to become a cosponsor. A large and growing number of cosponsors helps the chief sponsor get a hearing in the committee of referral.
Our August "Special Edition" of the Washington Letter and the enclosed booklet devoted to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) was a great success. Our GPO-WEP booklet also has been sent to every Representative's office, accompanied by a personal letter from President Jackson urging each to cosponsor HR 2273, the GPO reform bill introduced by Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA). As of the date of this newsletter, that bill has 96 cosponsors.
NARFE's legislative department is now asking NARFE chapter leaders to compile a list of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of their own chapter members who are affected by either--or both--of these two provisions, noting by each name the affecting provision, either WEP or GPO. Once the list in your chapter is developed and by the end of January 1998, please send it to Bob Normandie, c/o NARFE Legislative Department.
We want to develop an in-house list of affected individuals in order to better communicate with them and target our efforts on this issue. Please do not ask individuals to call the Legislative Department with this information, since we are not staffed to handle that many calls, particularly in the midst of our move from the Washington office to the new headquarters in Alexandria, VA.
Our new address will be: 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria VA 22314-1943. We hope to be relocated by the latter part of November, and as soon as new phone numbers for the switchboard, the legislative hotline and our faxes are confirmed, they will be publicized through all available avenues.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), father of FERS, used his chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee to include provision for a new FERS open season in the conference report on the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government appropriations bill, H.R. 2378. This bill was enacted into P.L. 105-61, but President Clinton used his new line-item veto authority to strike the provision which would have created a six month open season for current federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to switch to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
Retirement Life issues in November and December have pull-out sections on the 1997 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) Open Season, November 10 through December 8. November's pull-out provides some important reminders, questions and answers, and the 1998 premiums for nine fee-for-service plans and the eight largest HMO plans. The December pull-out will have the 1998 benefit changes for fee-for-service plans, new HMO plans for 1998 and the HMO plans dropping out of FEHBP in 1998. Information of special interest to Medicare enrollees will be included.
October's Retirement Life, page 14, provided preliminary information about Open Season procedures, including the new toll free number (1-800/332-9798) to be used for all Open Season transactions.
The Concord Coalition is hosting "Generational Responsibility Forums" around the country. NARFE members attended the first held one held in Lowell, Massachusetts, home of the late Senator Paul Tsongas, an original Concord Coalition leader. Each Forum will focus on the future of Social Security and Medicare with a panel of experts interacting with Concord members and other citizens. Dates and places are: November 14, San Francisco; November 17, Atlanta; and, January 16, 1998, Phoenix. Additional forums are being planned for February in Tampa; March in Chicago; April in Washington; May in Portland, OR; June in Cleveland and Charlotte; July in Houston and Philadelphia; September in Los Angeles; and, October in Detroit. The Concord Coalition's Washington office (202/467-6222) can provide time and place details and a phone number for reservations.
Subject: Presidential Veto
For NARFE Netters: Following two messages are forwarded for your info. The first is from NARFE Hq and the second is from a FEDWeek Special for those of you who do not subscribe to FEDWeek. - Don Geoffrion
From: Dan Adcock (NARFE Legislative Dept)
Re: FERS Open Season Veto
Date: 10/16/97 2:15 PM (ET)
President Clinton's line-item veto of the FERS Open Season provisions in the 1998 fiscal year Treasury-Postal Appropriations bill now appears imminent. The administration will cite cost of the CSRS-FERS conversions as the reason for the veto.
FEDweek SPECIAL ALERT -- October 16, 1997
Clinton Vetoes New FERS Open Season Using his line item veto authority
President Clinton has nixed a congressionally-approved plan to allow federal and postal employees under the old CSRS retirement system to switch to the newer FERS system.
From: NARFE Legislative Department
Many of you seem to be asking and responding to questions concerning a mix of issues. There include: NARFE's position and information on a possible FERS Open Season; what this may mean for NARFE's effort to reform the GPO; what is the GPO; what is the WEP; and will headquarters comment on these issues?!
Rather than try to respond to each one, we'll go with Rboor's suggestion for a common response. Please know that once the FERS Open Season provision is enacted--or vetoed--we will both have and need some time to put together information for employees who want to make an informed decision. There will be no hurry, so there is no need to panic ourselves or others.
Hope this information helps. By the way, Illene Harrison's comments of 10/13 are right on target!
FERS OPEN SEASON
Active federal employees enrolled in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) will have the opportunity next year to join the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), under a provision added by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens to H.R. 2378, the 1998 fiscal year (FY) Treasury-Postal Appropriations bill. The Conference agreement on H.R. 2378 has been approved by the House and Senate and is presently awaiting the President's signature. Although the line-item veto could be used to strike this provision from H.R. 2378, the White House is not expected to exercise this option.
H.R. 2378 would allow CSRS-covered employees to enroll in FERS between July 1, 1998 and December 31, 1998. Members of Congress would not be allowed to participate in the FERS open season under language added to H.R. 2169, the FY 1998 Transportation Appropriations bill.
CSRS federal employees who enroll in FERS can avoid reductions in Social Security spousal benefits required by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) if they remain in federal service for AT LEAST FIVE YEARS after converting to FERS. Although NARFE is pleased that the FERS open season will enable some active federal employees to become exempt from GPO, federal retirees and survivors will still be subject to this unfair penalty. Enactment of the FERS open season will in no way diminish NARFE's convention mandate to press for GPO reform.
NARFE members must urge their U.S. Representative to cosponsor, H.R. 2273, a bill that would remove the offset for anyone whose combined government annuity and spousal Social Security benefit is $1,200 per month or less. For those with more than $1,200 the two-thirds offset would apply on amounts over $1,200. H.R. 2273, introduced by Rep. Wm. Jefferson (D-LA) has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee, and as of 10/16 has 96 cosponsors.
GOVERNMENT PENSION OFFSET---WINDFALL ELIMINATION PROVISION
Although the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) are complex issues, and widely misunderstood, even by Social Security employees, NARFE has provided our membership with a number of tools to better understand both.
The May 1997 issue of Retirement Life (RL), page 11, contains a chart listing who is affected by GPO and WEP, how they are affected, and who is exempt from GPO and WEP. The July 1997 RL contains an article on the WEP which explains the effects of WEP as well as information on the computation of the benefit using the WEP formula. The August 1997 RL covers the GPO. In addition, the legislative department distributed a 12-page booklet on the GPO and WEP to all Federation and Chapter legislative officers in August.
The easiest way to define GPO and WEP is, if a person's OWN Social Security is reduced, it's WEP; if the benefit being reduced, is BASED ON A HUSBAND'S OR WIFE'S Social Security (a widow's benfit, for example), then it's GPO. Both GPO and WEP can apply to the same federal annuitant.
It is also important to remember that federal survivor annuitants are NOT affected by either GPO or WEP unless they also happen to be retired federal employees themselves.
BARNEY FRANK INTRODUCES WEP BILL
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced a bill, H.R. 2549, to eliminate the WEP if a person's combined monthly Social Security benefit (before WEP), plus the gross amount of the government annuity, is $2,000 or less. If the monthly combined amount is $3,000 or more the WEP would still apply and the Social Security benefit would be reduced as in present law.
For combined amounts of over $2,000, but less than $3,000, the WEP would be phased in at different percentage rates until the full WEP formula applied at the $3,000 level.
Social Security actuaries have estimated that 70% of the people now affected by WEP would be exempt from the WEP formula if Frank's bill becomes law. An additional 23% would get more benefits than they now do if they fall in the $2,000 to $3,000 combined monthly income range. In total, the Frank bill would pay higher benefits to 93% of the WEP affected population.
NARFE's convention mandate on the WEP is to support full repeal of the WEP. However, we have publicized the Frank bill since many of our members are adversely affected by the WEP and should know about any legislation that is introduced on this or any issue that is part of our legislative program.
Subj: Re: Conversion from CSRS to FERS
Date: 97-10-13 20:53:04 EDT
Just a minute! If the President signs the Treasury appropriation bill, current federal employees will be protected in so far as the Government Pension Offset is concerned, depending upon how the Bill is worded (I haven't seen the wording as yet).
HOWEVER, that Bill will not help those folks who have already retired and have been "shafted" by the GPO. We STILL need to work on the Bill to help these folks.
The biggest losers were the women who did not understand the implications of the GPO when they had an opportunity to transfer to FERS in 1987. At that time, the info provided by OPM was very limited and counselors were prohibited from counselling employees that they should or should not transfer to FERS. These women are in dire financial straights--may of them--so let us not remove the pressure to urge legislation to help those who have already retired and now find themselves having to work (in private industry) when they really haven't the physical ability to do so.
Illene
Subj: Re: Conversion from CSRS to FERS
Date: 97-10-13 21:03:53 EDT
From: ILLENEH
As I read the earlier message, I noticed the concern that if you transfer to FERS, you will be subject to WEP.
Hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the problems with WEP have no bearing upon whether or not you have FERS coverage. Under Social Security, they (SSA) assumes that you have worked under SSA coverage for 30 years or more. If you don't have 30 years of SUBSTANTIAL EARNINGS (we'll talk about that at some other time), your SSA benefits are substantially reduced. Needless to say, the formula for calculating benefits under SSA when you retire --either from federal service or otherwise -- is complicated.
The WEP law was modified slightly in December 1987, but it still impacts unfavorably on federal employees.
As I mentioned in my earlier message, we MUST NOT REDUCE OUR EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE ADVERSE IMPACT OF THE GOVERNMENT PENSION OFFSET. Let us not confuse WEP and GPO! As NARFE members, we must continue to support legislation to modify the GPO--many of our members are adversely affected by current law.
I hope that this message and my earlier message goes out to the entire NARFE net. Our efforts are critically important!
Illene Harrison
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 13:08:58 Subject: NAFE Hotline 10/16/97
NARFE Legislative Hotline is generally recorded Fridays if Congress is in session for telephone callers to 1-202/234-0503 and available on the Internet at http://www.narfe.org
Welcome to the NARFE Legislative HOTLINE. Recorded Thursday, October 16th, these 3 minutes are devoted to just released data on September consumer prices and the cost of living adjustment for federal civilian retirees. Open season information for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is also featured. The next scheduled HOTLINE is October 24th.
Today the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics released September consumer price data. September's index, 158.3, is the final data point needed to measure the third quarter average, 157.9 and calculate the percentage change over the year, 2.1 percent. This is the lowest figure since the 1.3 percent COLA effective December 1, 1986. Due to the hard and effective work of NARFE members during the budget battle, a Cost of Living Adjustment of 2.1 percent will be effective December 1, 1997 and be reflected in January checks and electronic funds transfers.
Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA) COLAs, for persons who left government service due to on-the-job injuries or illness, are based on calendar year changes in the CPI-W. During the first nine months of 1997 the index has risen 1.3 percent, compared with a 2.8 percent rise during the comparable period of 1996.
Retirement Life issues in November and December have pull-out sections on the 1997 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) Open Season, November 10 through December 8. November's pull-out provides some important reminders, questions and answers, and the premiums for nine fee-for-service plans and the eight largest HMO. The December pull-out will have the 1998 benefit changes for fee-for- service plans, new HMO plans for 1998 and those HMOs dropping out of FEHBP in 1998. Information of special interest to Medicare enrollees will be included. October's Retirement Life, at page 14, provided preliminary information about Open Season procedures, including the new toll free number, 1-800/332-9798, to be used for all Open Season transactions.
5 of the regular 13 appropriation bills have been signed into law. These include the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriation Bill which is now Public Law 105-61. Two additional appropriation bills have arrived at the White House. To avoid even a partial government shutdown a second continuing resolution must be passed by October 23rd.
Thank you for calling. The Hotline is available by both E-mail and on NARFE's web page on the Internet. All are services of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
Subject: Re: Empoyee Conversion from CSRS to FERS
For NARFE Netters: Following messages from fellow coordinators Lee Gross & Jerry Makowski deserve attention by our friends who are still in federal civil service employment As was pointed out on page 3 of the recent NARFE publication on the Giovernment OPension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision, CSRS Cemployees transferred to FERS are not repeat not exempt from applicationm of the WEP. - From Don Geoffrion
Return-Path:
NARFENetters:
Below assumes that the President signs the Post
Office - Treas. Appropriation Bill and that we
don't work hard enough to get the WEP change bill
passed.
My understanding is that people will have 6 months
to decide and that there will be all sorts of
advisory information put out.
Would hope that HQ would advise us also via
Hotlines or RL articles.
LEE
Fellow Netters, I received the following note from
a fellow Netter on the Prodigy net:
This is something that should be given strong
consideration. This info should be given wide
distribution. Many thanks to Penelope who sent
this to me. Regards, Jerry
Subject: NARFE Hotline 10/10/97
NARFE Legislative Hotline is generally recorded Fridays if Congress is in
session for
telephone callers to 1-202/234-0503 and available on the Internet at
http://www.narfe.org n:\data\narfe\lhotline\cfo10.97 (387 words).
Welcome to the NARFE Legislative HOTLINE. Recorded Friday, October 10th,
these 3
minutes cover the status of appropriation bills including funding for
programs of the
Older Americans Act. An action message is included. The next scheduled
HOTLINE,
October 16th, will report on September inflation and the 1998 cost of
living adjustment
for social security, military and civilian retirement programs.
Ten days into the new fiscal year only 3 of the regular 13 appropriation
bills have been
signed into law. A fourth bill, H.R. 2378, the Treasury, Postal Service
and General
Government Appropriation has arrived at the White House. It still appears
that no one
wants even a partial government shutdown. Therefore, a second continuing
resolution
will be passed by October 23rd.
One of the nine pending appropriation bills is the Labor and Health and Human
Services Appropriations bill , H.R. 2264. House and Senate conferees will
have to
reconcile different levels of support for programs of the Older Americans
Act including
meals on wheels, congregate meals, disease prevention and community service
employment. In two key areas the Senate passed language provides higher
funding
vital to older Americans. Senior citizen advocacy organizations, including
NARFE, are
asking their members to call their own representative and senators now.
The message,
which will be repeated, is: Maintain the Senate's Older Americans Act
funding levels in
the final Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations bill. To repeat, the
message to carry to your own Congressional delegation is: Maintain the
Senate's Older
Americans Act funding levels in the final Labor-Health and Human Services
Appropriations bill.
Now through October 19th is an ideal time to meet your Representatives and
Senators
during the Columbus Day Work Period! Call now to arrange a group visit
with your
Representative. Contact your Representative's local office to schedule
that group visit
or to learn what public events he or she will attend. Face to face
meetings can
establish a relationship that may prove vital in the future. If local
phone directories
cannot supply a local office number, contact the NARFE legislative department.
Thank you for calling. The Hotline is available by both E-mail and on
NARFE's web
page on the Internet. All are services of the National Association of
Retired Federal
Employees.
Original FERS Open Season Lasted Six Months
Only a small percentage of federal and postal employees given the chance to
switch to the FERS retirement system did so during the original open season,
which lasted from July 1 through December 31, 1987. It now looks likely that
there will be another chance for the vast majority of CSRS employees who
didn’t jump to the newer FERS system during that period to do so next year.
The Office of Personnel Management is beginning to draft conversion rules in
anticipation of the next FERS open season. The proposed new season would be
six months, as well, stretching from July 1 to December 31, 1998.
Last Time FERS Choice Was Irreversible
Under rules governing the first FERS open season, once an employee switched
from CSRS to FERS, there was no going back. The Office of Personnel
Management stressed that last time saying that there are advantages and
disadvantages to both systems and that since the decision was final,
employees had better be familiar with them. It released a lot of information
designed to help people with that decision.
What OPM Stressed a Decade Ago
One of the points OPM made 10 years ago was that if an employee was sure he
or she would retire after a career of 20 to 30 years, CSRS probably was the
better choice. But that was before the thrift savings plan C fund was racking
up huge gains that favored FERS employees who could invest up to 10 percent
of their salaries with the government adding another 5 percent – CSRS
employees are limited to 5 percent with no match – and before government
"reinvention" made previously safe federal jobs vulnerable to the budget ax.
Top Execs to Get 1998 Raise
Most senior executive employees of the government will receive a 2.3 percent
in January, now that members of Congress led the way in allowing a raise for
themselves. It’s been four years since the last hike.
Workers Comp Reform Winds Are Blowing Again
One of the most controversial programs in the government – injury
compensation, also known as the Federal Employees Compensation Act, or FECA
-- is beginning to get the once-over again. There appear to be two, distinct
camps on the issue. One believes the program is a gravy train for lazy
cheaters who bilk the system for cash, while the other maintains that the
vast majority of FECA claimants are honest people who are victimized by their
agencies who are trying to save FECA dollars at the expense of the injured.
Congressional hearings have begun, although it doesn’t appear likely that
there will be program changes this year.
TSP Open Season Reminder
The next, regular thrift savings plan open season draws near. It is November
15 through January 31.
Lachance to Become OPM Director
President Clinton has nominated Janice R. Lachance to be the new Office of
Personnel Management director. Lachance, the current OPM acting director, was
former OPM director Jim King’s communications director and chief of staff and
was the former communications director at the American Federation of
Government Employees. She is considered a fast study and is thoroughly
knowledgeable about most aspects of federal employment.
The Older Americans Act (OAA) is a 32 year-old program that provides
funding for congregate
and home delivered meals, senior centers, transportation, in-home care,
caregiver support, legal
and retirement counseling, disease prevention, health promotion, nursing
home ombudsman and
other services that help senior citizens maintain a decent quality of life,
independence and dignity.
Older Americans Act funding originates from the annual Labor-Health and
Human Services
Appropriations bill. H.R. 2264, the House version of the 1998 fiscal year
(FY) bill provides $815
million for all OAA programs managed by the Department of Health and Human
Services's
Administration on Aging (DHHS/AoA) and $440 million for the Title V
community service
employment program administered by the Department of Labor (DOL). AoA
programs would
receive $894 million and the DOL senior employment program would receive
$453 million under
S. 1061, the Senate's bill. During the present 1997 fiscal year, AOA
programs received $830
million and DOL programs received $440 million.
A conference committee was recently appointed by the congressional
leadership to resolve
differences between the House and Senate versions of the FY 1998 Labor-HHS
Appropriations
bill.
Member organizations of the Aging community, including the National
Association of Retired
Federal Employees (NARFE), are asking their members who live in the
congressional districts or
states of the conferees to write or call these Representatives and Senators
immediately to urge
them to: MAINTAIN THE SENATE'S OLDER AMERICANS ACT FUNDING LEVELS IN
THE FINAL LABOR-HHS APPROPRIATIONS BILL. To follow is a list of the Labor-HHS
Appropriations Conference Committee members:
SENATE:
Stevens (AK), Full Committee Chairman
HOUSE:
Livingston (LA), Full Committee Chairman
Hello. Welcome to the NARFE Legislative HOTLINE recorded Friday, September
19th. Consumer price data, the status of appropriation bills and pending
priority legislation will be covered. The next scheduled HOTLINE is
September 26th.
Inflation measured by the CPI-W rose 0.2 percent in August, after rising no
more than 0.1 percent in any single month since February, 1997. Measured
price hikes in August brought the index reading to 157.8, up 0.2 percent
from July's reading of 157.5.
The average index reading of the first two months of this year's third
quarter period is 157.7, or 2.0 percent higher than the 1996 third quarter
average index of 154.6, used as the base for computing the next
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
The annual COLAs of persons receiving benefits under provisions of the
Federal Employees Compensation Act are based on each calendar year's rise
in the CPI-W. During the first eight months of 1997, the index has risen
1.2 percent, compared with a 2.4 percent hike during the comparable period
of 1996.
House and Senate floor time will be devoted exclusively to fiscal 1998
appropriations bills as the October 1st deadline draws near. This may
allow several appropriation conference reports to be passed. Both chambers
could also consider a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running
for the first 8 or 9 days of October. No one wants even a partial
government shutdown!
NARFE had a successful budget cycle but we must not rest on our laurels.
Even if untouched personally by the Government Pension Offset, each NARFE
member should use the September issue of Retirement Life to prepare a
postcard or letter pressing their own Representative to cosponsor and work
for passage of H.R. 2273, the GPO bill. Your phone calls and
correspondence are the key!
Similarly, NARFE's "off budget" legislation, H.R. 107, needs more than the
current 93 cosponsors. The two most recent cosponsors, Reps. Clement and
Bryant, both of Tennessee, were recruited by Tennessee NARFE members who
called and visited their Representatives. October 12th through 19th will
be an ideal time to meet your Representatives and Senators during the
Columbus Day Work Period! Start planning a group visit with your
Representative during that week. Contact your Representative's local
office now to schedule that group visit. Face to face meetings can
establish a relationship that may prove vital in the future.
Thank you for calling. The Hotline is available by both E-mail and on
NARFE's web page on the Internet. All are services of the National
Association of Retired Federal Employees.
NARFE Hotline 9/16/97
NARFE Legislative Hotline is generally recorded Fridays if Congress is in
session for telephone callers to 1-202/234-0503 and available on the Internet
at
http://www.narfe.org
Hello and welcome to the NARFE Legislative HOTLINE recorded by Chris Farrell
on Friday, September 26th. Campaign finance reform, the status of
appropriation bills and pending priority legislation will be covered. The
next scheduled HOTLINE is October 3rd.
Today the Senate is debating the merits and demerits of the current system of
financing congressional elections. Senators McCain and Feingold will offer a
version of their reform measure, S. 25. The House is sticking to
appropriation bills amid dilatory tactics by minority Democrats and the
Speaker's support for removing the current limits on contributions to
Congressional candidates. Sunday network television news programs are likely
to discuss these issues.
As the beginning of the new fiscal year looms, only 3 of 13 appropriation
bills have been cleared for the President. Senate Minority Leader Daschle
indicates a continuing resolution is likely to be considered that would last
until October 23rd. No one wants even a partial government shutdown!
NARFE had a successful budget cycle but we should not relax. Here is the way
to stay engaged. Even if unaffected personally by the Government Pension
Offset, each NARFE member should use the September issue of Retirement Life,
pages 10 and 11, to prepare a postcard or letter pressing their own
Representative to cosponsor and work for passage of H.R. 2273, the Government
Pension Offset bill. Your phone calls and correspondence are the key! Due
to NARFE member efforts 7 cosponsors were added September 24th. NARFE's
Government Pension Offset bill now has 76 cosponsors.
Similarly, NARFE's "off budget" legislation, H.R. 107, needs more than the
current 93 cosponsors. October 12th through 19th will be an ideal time to
meet your Representatives and Senators during the Columbus Day Work Period!
Start planning a group visit with your Representative during that week.
Contact your Representative's local office now to schedule that group visit.
Face to face meetings can establish a relationship that may prove vital in
the future.
Thank you for calling. The Hotline is available by both E-mail and on
NARFE's web page on the Internet. All are services of the National
Association of Retired Federal Employees.
X-Sender: leenarfe@basec.net
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 00:01:05 -0500
To: "A-The WHOLE BUNCH Mailing List":;, "A-NARFE HQ GROUP Mailing List":;
From: "E. Lee Gross"
Subject: Change from CSRS to FERS
Cc: "A-COORDINATORS Mailing List":;
X-Sender: makowski@rt66.com
X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.1 (32)
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 1997 08:48:09 -0600
To: "Prodigy Netters":;
From: Jerry Makowski
Subject: Change from CSRF to FERS
Cc: NCoordinators:;
"Those federal workers who are under CSRS and
who are considering switching to FERS should
realize that they WILL be subject to WEP. This
could take a big chunk out of their anticipated
retirement income since FERS pensions are lower
than CSRS pensions, given the same time and payin.
They would thus get chopped twice."
Subject: Excerpts from FEDWeek, 10/8/97
Spector (PA), Subcommittee Chairman
Cochran (MS)
Gorton (WA)
Bond (MO)
Gregg (NH)
Faircloth (NC)
Craig (ID)
Hutchison (TX)
Byrd (WV), Full Committee Ranking Democrat
Harkin (IA), Subcommittee Ranking Democrat
Hollings (SC)
Inouye (HI)
Bumpers (AR)
Reid (NV)
Kohl (WI)
Murray (WA)
Porter (PA), Subcommittee Chairman
Young (FL)
Bonilla (TX)
Istook (OK)
Miller (FL)
Dickey (AR)
Wicker (MS)
Northrup (KY)
Obey (WI), Ranking Democrat
Stokes (OH)
Hoyer (MD)
Pelosi (CA)
Lowey (NY)
DeLauro (CT)
"Please oppose the Senate's plan to raise Medicare premiums, Home Health
Co-Pay and the eligibiliy age. Medicare was enacted in 1965 to provide
health security to all Americans at age 65 regardless of income. The
committment made to those who have paid into the program through taxes or
payroll must be kept."
NARFE Hotline
September 19, 1997
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