The FED Weekly

The conversation focused on critical developments impacting federal employees and retirees during the week of September 13-19, 2026. One concept discussed was OPM’s request for information on optimizing FEHB and Postal Service Health Benefits plan offerings, asking whether more, fewer, or different plan options would better balance choice, cost, and simplicity. The discussion explored a GAO report revealing agencies spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave in 2025, largely due to the Deferred Resignation Program, and highlighted the challenges of accurately tracking these costs. Another key theme was renewed Senate objections to OPM’s collection of detailed health claims data, with privacy and cybersecurity concerns for millions of current and former employees. Several points were raised, including OPM’s new rule for shared hiring certificates to streamline federal job recruitment, proposed changes to excepted service hiring, and an administrative stay temporarily freezing USDA employee relocations. Additionally, the GAO reported that whistleblower retaliation cases at DHS can take years to resolve, undermining confidence in the protections provided.