FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 28, 1998

CONTACT: Michael Orenstein (202) 606-1800 mworenst@opm.gov

OPM Director Lachance Presents Vice President Gores Hammer Awards to St. Paul Veterans Affairs and IRS Offices During Sept. 30 Twin Cities Visit

Washington, D.C. -- The federal governments top human resources official will present Vice President Al Gores prestigious Hammer Award to employees of the St. Paul Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office and Insurance Center and Internal Revenue Service District Office on Wednesday, September 30.

Janice R. Lachance, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, will present two of the awards on behalf of the Clinton/Gore Administration to employees of the VA Regional Offices Information Center and the Post-Decision Review Team. Lachance also will present awards to the IRS Red River Valley Flood Relief Team and partners in the recovery effort. The Hammer Awards are presented to individuals who have done an exemplary job in creating a federal government that works better and costs less.

The Hammer Awards ceremony, which takes place during a meeting of the Minnesota Federal Executive Board (FEB), will be held on:

Lachance will be available to speak with media the afternoon of September 30 at the Decathlon Club, or by arrangement at other times during her visit.

The VAs Information Center will be recognized for setting up a central location to receive more than 200,000 overflow telephone calls from customers in 13 Midwestern states who otherwise would have experienced frustrating delays in receiving information.

The Post-Decision Review Team will be recognized for having one of the best labor appeals

records among the nations 58 VA Regional Offices. The team has reduced the number of appeals by 30 percent and improved the quality of decisions presented to the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, D.C.

The IRS Red River Valley Flood Relief Team will be recognized for conducting a massive education effort to alert flood victims regarding the financial scams and con artists that often appear following major disasters. In addition, the IRS offered valuable information to taxpayers on reporting losses resulting from natural disasters.

Also during the ceremony, Director Lachance will present Federal Womens Program Awards to five federal agencies and the Federal Executive Board for promoting professional opportunities for women and advancing family-friendly policies in the workplace.

During her stay in Minneapolis, Director Lachance will convene a human resources forum for federal personnel professionals to discuss Clinton Administration initiatives to build a 21st

Century government. The one-hour forum will be held at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Room 196, Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Sept. 30, at 10 a.m.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is the federal governments human resources agency. While daily providing the American public with up-to-date employment information, OPM ensures that the nations civil service remains free of political influence and that federal employees are selected and treated fairly and on the basis of merit. OPM supports agencies with personnel services and policy leadership, including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations, preparation of governments future leaders, compensation policy development and programs to improve work force performance. The agency manages the federal retirement system, as well as the worlds largest employer-sponsored health insurance program for nearly nine million federal employees, retirees and their family members.

Media interested in attending the Federal Executive Board meeting or Hammer Awards ceremony, or meeting with OPM Director Lachance and other federal officials, should contact OPMs Mike Orenstein at 202-606-1800. For help in arranging an interview or receiving other assistance on the day of the event, media should contact Margaret Geisler at 612-713-7200.

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