Remember that Office of Personnel Management proposal—buried deep in its fiscal 2014 budget request—to begin charging charities a fee in fiscal 2015 to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign?
Well, forget it, at least for now.
“It was just an idea that was being considered,” Mark Lambert, OPM associate director for merit system accountability and compliance, said in an interview yesterday following a congressional hearing. Asked whether the proposal is now defunct, Lambert said yes.
The proposal, which was intended to cover OPM’s costs for running the campaign, is distinct from the agency’s plan to begin charging charities an application fee as part of a broader overhaul of the CFC, Lambert said. That plan is under review; OPM will work with stakeholders to determine what the fee amount will be, Lambert said.
OPM officials had previously declined to comment on the fee proposal in the 2014 budget request. Within the CFC community, however, the proposal had caused some head-scratching because the agency claimed to have received “legislative permission” to charge the fee. Queried on that point during yesterday’s hearing, Lambert said the claim was included “in error.”
“It was just some language that was put in there,” he added afterwards, “but should have been stricken before it was finalized.”
2 Comments
The CFC should simply be eliminated. The cost to the government in administering this bloated albatross in terms of both dollars and personnel time are unaffordable in today’s budget environment.
Federal employees are free to donate whatever they with to whatever charity they desire, with or without the existence of the CFC.
End the CFC now.
Oh OPM when will you learn to play by the rules like everyone else! Quit trying to take over and ruin the CFC!