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NARFE Congratulates OPM Director Ahuja on Her Confirmation

Alexandria, Va. – NARFE National President Ken Thomas issued the following statement after the confirmation Tuesday of Kiran Ahuja as Director of the Office of Personnel Management:

“As the newly confirmed director of the Office of Personnel Management, Kiran Ahuja brings a demonstrated commitment to revitalizing the federal workforce and a clear recognition that OPM needs to innovate.

“NARFE has been encouraged by Ahuja’s commitment to focus on IT modernization, including support for an IT modernization fund, transitioning retirement processing from the paper-based system we have today to an electronic one and focusing on improving call center operations. NARFE has fielded far too many complaints from members regarding the time to process retirement and their inability to communicate with OPM. We welcome Ahuja’s commitment to addressing these problems.

“OPM has lacked consistent leadership from a director who is dedicated solely to that role. This had hindered its ability to overcome its many challenges, as were highlighted earlier this year by the National Academy of Public Administration. Ahuja’s qualifications and commitment to staying on the job offer hope that this obstacle to progress may be addressed.

“But much will still need to be done. OPM must do a better job of honoring our nation’s public servants through improved service to employees and retirees, and empower federal agencies with the authority, tools and resources needed to recruit, retain and develop the federal workforce needed to serve the American people.

“NARFE stands ready to partner with Director Ahuja as she gets to work on behalf of America’s civil servants and federal retirees.”

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As the only organization solely dedicated to the general welfare of all federal workers and retirees, NARFE delivers valuable guidance, timely resources and powerful advocacy. For 100 years, NARFE has been a trusted source of knowledge for the federal community, Capitol Hill, the executive branch and the media.

CONTACT:
Jenn Rafael
NARFE Director of Communications and Marketing
jrafael@narfe.org | (571) 483-1270