Senate Homeland Security Committee Delays Votes on OPM Nominees

The FEHBlog noted on Sunday that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee planned to hold a business meeting today to consider the OPM Director, OPM Deputy Director, and GSA Administration nominations. Federal News Radio reports that the Committee indefinitely postponed the meeting.

“At this time, the committee cannot proceed to a vote on the nominations of OPM director and deputy director until OPM complies with the chairman’s request for documents related to the development of OPM’s regulation that exempted members of Congress from Obamacare,” a committee spokeswoman wrote in an email to Federal News Radio.

The FEHBlog sympathizes with the Committee Chair Sen Ron Johnson because the FEHBlog always expected that Congress would have to appropriate funds to provide an employer contribution toward marketplace coverage for staff members. The FEHBlog expected that members of Congress would wind up paying their own premiums in the marketplace like individual subscribers.

Nevertheless, the FEHBlog considers the Committee's action to be short sighted. The FEHBlog expects that the Chairman would get answers from OPM more quickly if the Senate confirmed Dr. Jeff Pon and Michael Rigas as OPM Director and Deputy Director respectively.