The Public Service

The federal government will spend about $150 billion on pay and benefits for civilian employees in 1993. The effectiveness and efficiency with which federal agencies carry out programs depends largely on the quality, motivation, and performance of these workers. Thus, the recruitment, hiring, training, management, and accountability of federal employees is critical to effective government. GAO issued 67 reports and 22 testimonies on federal public service during 1991. This report summarizes each of these documents, discusses agency responses to GAO's recommendations on everything from lobbying reform to health club memberships for federal workers, and examines key areas in which further action or monitoring is needed.

GAO found that: (1) during 1992, the Office of Government Ethics strengthened federal employees' financial disclosure and standards of conduct regulations; (2) OPM established a federal Work and Family Program Center to coordinate federal work and family efforts; (3) the Tennessee Valley Authority improved its labor relations with employee unions; (4) the Office of Management and Budget amended its guidance to clarify its instructions and forms to agencies regarding lobbying reform; (5) Commerce reorganized its financial management function and improved its management qualifications for financial management positions; (6) OPM increased its evaluation and documentation of veteran's preference certificates, restricted the use of excused leave for federal employee participation in health and fitness activities, implemented recommendations ensuring that career appointments granted to current political appointees are based on merit principles, developed an automated system to access information on recruiting programs, and established minimum requirements for agency personnel that oversee direct-hire management by OPM regional offices; (7) the Department of State developed an automated system to combine annuity claims of foreign service officers; (8) Congress passed legislation regarding the appointment of experts and consultants; (9) Labor expanded its database on displaced workers and federal job openings and clarified on when workers could receive job retraining assistance; (10) the Department of Justice needs to improve affirmative employment programs, representation, and review performance standards regarding equal employment opportunity effectiveness; (11) OPM needs to complete specific guidelines on authorizing higher starting salaries for superior qualified personnel; and (12) Congress needs to implement recommendations and enact legislation authorizing agencies to incur obligations and not expend funds when agency appropriations expire.