OPM has issued guidance on recruitment and retention flexibilities for Gulf Coast region employees affected by the 2005 hurricanes but it argues against the kind of across-the-board pay increase some have called for. It noted that the New Orleans Federal Executive Board, local agencies, and individual employees have expressed concerns about the personal hardships caused by sharp increases in the cost of living and difficult living and working conditions in that region. But OPM said that locality pay is not based on the cost of living and cannot be fine tuned to respond to temporary, emergency situations. It recommended instead the use of recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives, the superior qualifications and special needs pay-setting authority, as well as the student loan repayment program.