FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, Dec. 10, 1997

CONTACT: Mary Ann Maloney (202) 606-1800 mamalone@opm.gov

VICE PRESIDENT GORE ADMINISTERS OATH OF OFFICE TO OPM DIRECTOR JANICE R. LACHANCE

Washington, D.C. -- Calling her the voice for fairness to federal employees and for excellence in the government, and a champion of working people everywhere, Vice President Al Gore officially swore-in Janice R. Lachance as director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management today. President Clinton nominated Ms. Lachance in October to the four-year term as OPM Director. She was confirmed by the Senate on Sunday, November 9.

This is the greatest honor of my life, said Ms. Lachance at her swearing-in ceremony. We at OPM have made dramatic progress in the past four years. The challenge now is to build on our past successes for even greater achievements in the future. We must see that the federal government is a model employer, with a compensation system that will attract and retain the most talented and committed people in America to our civil service.

At OPM, Ms. Lachance will lead an agency that has government-wide human resource responsibilities, among them ensuring that federal employees are recruited and selected on the basis of merit and that they are treated fairly and equitably. The agency also provides leadership in determining federal employee pay systems, administering the federal retirement system and the largest employer-sponsored group health insurance program in the world. Together these programs serve over 9 million Americans.

In August, Ms. Lachance was appointed Deputy Director of the agency. She served, prior to this appointment, as the agencys Director of Communications and Policy from 1993-1996. In 1996 she was named Chief of Staff at OPM and served in that position until she was confirmed as OPM Deputy Director. Prior to joining OPM, Ms. Lachance served as the Director of Communications and Political Affairs for the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO. She is a graduate of Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, and received her law degree from Tulane University School of Law, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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