This week is Public Service Recognition Week (May 6 – 12, 2018). As is traditionally done by presidents, President Trump has issued a proclamation marking the occasion.
In this year’s proclamation, he acknowledges the accomplishments and importance of federal employees, and also emphasizes the need for the goverment to adopt the President’s Management Agenda which was issued in March by the White House.
As Trump states in the proclamation:
Implementation of this comprehensive framework will enable employees to achieve the missions of their agencies in more efficient and secure manners. This Agenda leverages information technology, data, and our Federal workforce to accomplish transformational cross-agency goals. Through the Agenda, my Administration has established a transparent accountability structure, which includes quarterly reviews and public updates, to identify both successes and areas that need further attention.
Among the items in the President’s Management Agenda of most interest to federal employees include a proposed pay freeze for 2019 and reductions to benefits. For details, see President’s Management Agenda Reiterates Pay Freeze, Benefits Cuts.
The new director at the Office of Personnel Management, Dr. Jeff Pon, is apparently on board with and has begun efforts to push for implementing these reforms to federal employees’ benefits. In a letter sent recently to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI), Pon called on Congress to pass legislation making reductions or reforms to the current benefits of federal workers, specifically:
- Eliminating federal employees’ retirement system annuity supplements
- Modifying annuity supplements from a high 3 average to high 5 average salary
- Increasing contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System
- Reducing or eliminating retirement cost-of-living adjustments (COLA)
For details on OPM’s proposals, see OPM Proposes Changes to Bring Federal Benefits Closer to Private Sector.
It is unknown at this point if any of these proposals will be implemented by Congress. We will continue to keep our readers informed of new developments.
President Trump’s full proclamation for Public Service Recognition Week follows below.
May 4, 2018
During Public Service Recognition Week, we acknowledge our Nation’s civil servants for their hard work and willingness to serve their fellow citizens. The contributions of these dedicated men and women strengthen our country and make a profound difference in the lives of all Americans.
Members of our Federal, State, and local workforces bring incredible skills, tireless dedication, and selfless service to a broad range of career fields. Our Nation’s civil servants include teachers, mail carriers, first responders, transit workers, and law enforcement officers. Our Federal employees underpin nearly all the operations of our Government.
It is critical for Federal employees to provide excellent service and wise stewardship of taxpayer resources. In order to facilitate these goals, in March, I issued the President’s Management Agenda, a long-term vision to modernize our Federal Government. Implementation of this comprehensive framework will enable employees to achieve the missions of their agencies in more efficient and secure manners. This Agenda leverages information technology, data, and our Federal workforce to accomplish transformational cross-agency goals. Through the Agenda, my Administration has established a transparent accountability structure, which includes quarterly reviews and public updates, to identify both successes and areas that need further attention.
We are duty-bound to the American people to operate at the highest levels of capability and competency. I am confident that, in keeping with the Agenda, our devoted civil servants will execute their missions so that our Government becomes more efficient and more productive for the benefit of all Americans.
Every day, our Nation’s civil servants help make America better, safer, and stronger. This week, we honor their efforts and extend our gratitude for their exceptionalism and steadfast commitment to serving the American people.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 6 through May 12, 2018, as Public Service Recognition Week. I call upon Americans and all Federal, State, tribal, and local government agencies to recognize the dedication of our Nation’s public servants and to observe this week through appropriate programs and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.
DONALD J. TRUMP
