Congress, Unions Continue to Pressure OPM

The congressional committees handing federal employment matters have scheduled more hearings where members plan to press for such information—today (June 24) in the House and tomorrow in the Senate—along with a fuller accounting of how such vital data could have been left so vulnerable for so long despite warnings from the agency IG. At a hearing yesterday, the OPM IG raised concerns about the security upgrade project and said that OPM had overstated the difficulties it faces related to outdated equipment. The next hearings also are likely to press OPM regarding the growing problem of employees being unable to access the contractor’s website to sign up for the credit monitoring service and experiencing hours-long waits when trying to get through by phone—a problem that could get still worse as more affected persons receive their notifications. A similar House hearing last week yielded little information from OPM but a great deal of frustration from members, several of whom of both parties have now called for the resignation of director Katherine Archuleta. Meanwhile, federal unions say that OPM should go ahead and offer the services to the entire workforce immediately, and that the services should be offered for longer than the 18 months. Another suggestion being raised is that the IRS be told to flag all affected persons for possible fraudulent tax refund claims being filed in their names.