[House Hearing, 119 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
FECA REFORM AND OVERSIGHT:
PRIORITIZING WORKERS, PROTECTING
TAXPAYER DOLLARS
=======================================================================
HEARING
Before The
SUBCOMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE
PROTECTIONS
of the
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND
WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 6, 2025
__________
Serial No. 119-10
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Workforce
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via: edworkforce.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
61-538 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
TIM WALBERG, Michigan, Chairman
JOE WILSON, South Carolina ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia,
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina Ranking Member
GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia MARK TAKANO, California
JAMES COMER, Kentucky ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina
BURGESS OWENS, Utah MARK DeSAULNIER, California
LISA C. McCLAIN, Michigan DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
MARY E. MILLER, Illinois LUCY McBATH, Georgia
JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
KEVIN KILEY, California ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota
MICHAEL A. RULLI, Ohio HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan
JAMES C. MOYLAN, Guam GREG CASAR, Texas
ROBERT F. ONDER, Jr., Missouri SUMMER L. LEE, Pennsylvania
RYAN MACKENZIE, Pennsylvania JOHN W. MANNION, New York
MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER, Washington VACANCY
MARK HARRIS, North Carolina
MARK B. MESSMER, Indiana
RANDY FINE, Florida
R.J. Laukitis, Staff Director
Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS
RYAN MACKENZIE, Pennsylvania, Chairman
MARK B. MESSMER, Indiana ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota,
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin Ranking Member
JAMES COMER, Kentucky HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan
MARY E. MILLER, Illinois GREG CASAR, Texas
RANDY FINE, Florida MARK TAKANO, California
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on May 6, 2025...................................... 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Mackenzie, Hon. Ryan, Chairman, Subcommittee on Workforce
Protections................................................ 1
Prepared statement of.................................... 3
Omar, Hon. Ilhan, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Workforce
Protections................................................ 5
Prepared statement of.................................... 8
WITNESSES
Szymendera, Scott, Congressional Research Service, U.S.
Library of Congress........................................ 10
Prepared statement of.................................... 12
Santos, Luiz, Acting Inspector General, U.S. Department of
Labor...................................................... 35
Prepared statement of.................................... 36
Renfroe, Brian, National President, National Association of
Letter Carriers............................................ 47
Prepared statement of.................................... 49
Hull, Tammy, Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service.......... 66
Prepared statement of.................................... 68
ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS
Ranking Member Omar:
Document titled ``A Selection of Case Studies on
Inefficiencies & Issues Associated With Current FECA
Claims''............................................... 74
Letter dated April 22, 2025, from OWCP................... 76
Document dated November 7, 2017, from the American Public
Health Association entitled, ``The Critical Need to
Reform Workers' Compensation''......................... 91
Letter dated May 21, 2025, from The National Treasury
Employees Union (NTEU)................................. 101
Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', a Representative in Congress
from the State of Virginia:
Support letter dated May 2, 2025, from the American
Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).............. 87
Letter dated May 1, 2025, from the Workers' Injury Law &
Advocacy Group (WILG).................................. 103
Walberg, Hon. Tim, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Michigan:
Statement for the Record dated May 6, 2025, from the
American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)........ 105
QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD
Responses to questions submitted for the record by:
Mr. Brian L. Renfroe..................................... 107
Mr. Scott Szymendera..................................... 131
FECA REFORM AND OVERSIGHT:
PRIORITIZING WORKERS, PROTECTING
TAXPAYER DOLLARS
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Tuesday, May 6, 2025
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections,
Committee on Education and Workforce,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:17 a.m., in
Room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, Hon.
Ryan Mackenzie (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Mackenzie, Messmer, Miller, Fine,
Walberg, Omar, Stevens, and Scott.
Also present: Courtney
Staff present: Vlad Cerga, Director of Information
Technology; Maren Emmerson, Intern; Libby Kearns, Press
Assistant; Libby Kearns, Press Assistant; Katerina Kerska,
Legislative Assistant; Trey Kovacs, Director of Workforce
Policy; Campbell Ladd, Clerk; R.J. Laukitis, Staff Director;
Danny Marca, Director of Information Technology; Brad Mannion,
Professional Staff Member; John Martin, Deputy Director of
Workforce Policy/Counsel; Audra McGeorge, Communications
Director; Daniel Nadel, Legislative Assistant; Ethan Pann,
Deputy Press Secretary and Digital Director; Kane Riddell,
Staff Assistant; Carl Rifino, Intern; Sara Robertson, Press
Secretary; Ann Vogel, Director of Operations; Ali Watson,
Director of Member Services; Joe Wheeler, Professional Staff
Member; James Whittaker, General Counsel; Ellie Berenson,
Minority Press Assistant; Ilana Brunner, Minority General
Counsel; Jo Howard, Minority Grad Intern; Dhrtvan Sherman,
Minority Research Assistant; Bob Shull, Minority Senior Labor
Policy Counsel; Raiyana Malone, Minority Press Secretary; Kevin
McDermott Minority Director of Labor Policy; Eleazer Padilla,
Minority Staff Assistant; Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff
Director; Banyon Vassar, Minority Director of IT.
Chairman Mackenzie. The Subcommittee on Workforce
Protection will come to order. I note that a quorum is present,
and without objection, the Chair is authorized to call a recess
at any time. Today's hearing is about examining the Federal
Employees' Compensation Act, known as FECA, a more than century
old law to consider how it might be improved to benefit injured
Federal workers, while also protecting taxpayers from waste,
fraud and abuse.
Enacted in 1916, FECA provides workers compensation
benefits to approximately 2.6 million civilian Federal
employees, employees of entities wholly owned by the United
States, including the U.S. Postal Service, and volunteers with
Volunteers and Service to America and the Peace Corps.
The FECA Program is administered and adjudicated by the
Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs.
Through this program DOL provides benefits to individuals who
sustain an injury or illness in the performance of duty
anywhere in the world.
Such benefits include wage replacement, reasonable and
necessary medical treatment related to the injury, vocational
rehabilitation and job placement assistance for disabled
workers, compensation for the permanent impairment of limbs and
use of body systems, and compensation for survivors of
employees due to a work-related death.
In Fiscal Year 2024, there were more than 86,000 new FECA
cases. From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, the program provided
more than 2.9 billion dollars in benefits to more than 178,000
workers and survivors for work related injuries or illnesses.
Of these benefit payments, approximately 2 billion dollars was
for wage loss compensation, 843 million dollars for medical and
rehabilitation services, and 143 million dollars for death
benefits payments to surviving dependents.
However, FECA is widely considered to be in need of
updating. With the last meaningful changes made more than 50
years ago. Critics of the existing program have argued that it
is susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse, and that it can be at
times overly generous as many beneficiaries remain on the
program well into retirement.
The need for reforming FECA has long been recognized by
Presidential administrations from both parties. In the Clinton
administration, George W. Bush administration, Obama
administration, and the first Trump administration, all making
reform proposals.
While these administrations have differed on many matters,
they agree on many reforms to benefit FECA recipients. Such
reforms include making the wage loss compensation level uniform
for all beneficiaries, permitting physician assistants and
nurse practitioners to approve claims for FECA benefits, and
allowing DOL to communicate with the Social Security
Administration to review claimant's employment and wage
information.
Federal workers and taxpayers deserve a more efficient and
effective program. Working together in a bipartisan fashion, we
can create comprehensive changes to ensure the FECA Program is
meeting the needs of workers and taxpayers. Creating a program
that prevents abuse by bad actors reflects the realities of the
21st Century, and provides adequate support to workers, and
that is the end goal.
I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses about
their perspectives on FECA, and discussing their
recommendations about reforming this important program. With
that, I yield to my Ranking Member for an opening statement.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Mackenzie follows:]
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Ms. Omar. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everyone.
Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. FECA is more
than just a compensation statute, it is a solemn promise. A
promise that if a Federal worker is injured on the job, we as
government, will make them whole.
It is a commitment not only to those who wear a uniform, or
work on the frontlines, but to every civilian Federal employee
from postal workers to TSA agents, to those inspecting our food
supply and maintaining public safety. These individuals do
their job with dedication, and we must ensure they are
protected when they are injured doing that work.
Unfortunately, in a broader landscape of workers'
compensation, we have seen a troubling trend. Years of
regressive changes in many states have weakened employee
compensation systems leaving too many workers behind in their
moment of greatest need. FECA stands as one of the last
stronghold of workers first compensation model, and we have a
responsibility to preserve and strengthen it, not dismantle it
in the name of cost saving or efficiency.
Historically, this Committee has shown that FECA reform
does not have to be partisan. In fact, some of the most
significant improvements have been made through bipartisan
cooperation. We have demonstrated that when we put politics
aside, and focus on the mission of supporting Federal workers,
we can deliver meaningful change, that legacy is worth
continuing.
We do not need to reinvent the wheel, we can, but we can
modernize the vehicle. That means updating outdated procedures,
improving access to care, and ensuring injured workers do not
fall through the cracks during the claim process. With
bipartisan work already underway, including the Improving
Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers
from Chair Walberg, and Representative Courtney, we are headed
in the right direction.
Let me be clear, any changes to FECA must be driven by one
question, how does this help workers? The conversation must be
centered on listening to workers. Too often, decisions about
Federal workforce policy are made without real engagement with
those directly impacted.
We need to hear from the workers navigating the claim
process. The physicians providing care, and the families who
face financial insecurity when benefits are delayed. Their
experiences must guide our reforms. To help us understand the
importance of the strengthening of FECA, I want to share two
stories from my home State of Minnesota.
In November 2020, a postal truck was hit by a speeding SUV,
causing the truck to flip over. The letter carrier inside was
found unconscious. He suffered numerous injuries, including a
broken wrist, a torn ACL, a broken chest bone, internal
bleeding and a concussion.
Since the incident, he has lived with PTSD and cognitive
communication deficit. Sadly, he will never be able to work
again. However, it is only due to FECA that his medical
treatment is covered, and he and his family receive steady cash
benefits that while falling short of a paycheck he once earned,
remain a vital lifeline.
This is why FECA matters because when tragedy strikes this
law is what stands between a lifetime of hardship and a measure
of dignity. Now, more than ever, we must remember that Federal
workers are not just serving a government, they are serving all
of us, and so at the very least, they deserve FECA Program that
is fair and worthy of services they provide to the public.
The tireless and often fearless dedication of our Federal
workers has real world impact on the safety and well-being of
our communities. Just last week I had the privilege of honoring
a letter carrier from my district in St. Louis Park who was
named NALC's 2025 National Hero of the Year for saving a person
trapped in a burning car.
This is only one example of the spirit of public service
that emanates our Federal workforce, and it is exactly why our
government must be committed to protecting them as they are
protecting others. When our Federal workers know that they will
be treated fairly, and supported in times of injury or illness,
it builds the kind of stability that strengthens not only the
workforce, but also the quality and delivery of public service
that millions of Americans rely on every day.
Now, I know we will hear concerns about cost efficiency,
and of course, we all want to use tax dollars responsibly. The
smartest and most cost-effective thing we can do is invest in
workplace safety. Fewer injuries or illnesses mean fewer
claims, and lower long-term costs.
That is why prevention matters. Like the proposed OSHA Heat
Stress Rule, are not good just policy, they are common sense.
Prevention is always cheaper than treatment, and when workers
have the training, equipment and protection they need everyone
benefits. Productivity goes up. Injury rates go down, and
public trust in our institutions are strengthened.
This should not be a partisan issue. It is about dignity.
It is about fairness. It is about whether we value the people
who put in the work every single day to serve this country.
When they get hurt, they should not be punished. They should
not be pushed into poverty. They should not have to jump
through hoops to get the care and compensation they have
earned.
They certainly should not be treated as a liability or line
items. These are human beings with families, careers and
futures that depend on our decisions in this room. We owe it to
our workforce, and to the public, to maintain a system that
reflects our values of fairness, compassion and respect for
those who serve.
We owe it to the institution to pursue those values in a
bipartisan way, building on past reforms with renewed focus on
the people who are the foundation of our government's daily
operations. I hope that is what today's hearing will reflect, a
real commitment to protecting workers, not cutting corners, a
willingness to improve FECA, not by weakening its promise, but
by strengthening the support it offers.
Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Ranking Member Omar follows:]
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Chairman Mackenzie. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8-C, all
members who wish to insert written testimoneys into the record
may do so by submitting them to the Committee Clerk
electronically in Microsoft Word format by 5 p.m., 14 days
after this hearing.
Without objection, the hearing record will remain open for
14 days to allow such statements, and other extraneous material
noted during the hearing to be submitted for the official
hearing record. I note that the Subcommittee, for the
Subcommittee, that some of my colleagues who are not permanent
members of the Subcommittee may be waving on for the purpose of
today's hearing.
Now, to the introduction of witnesses. I will turn--I will
start--first witness is going to be Mr. Scott Szymendera, who
is an Analyst of the congressional Research Service at the U.S.
Library of Congress here in Washington, DC.
Our second witness is Mr. Luiz Santos, the Acting Inspector
General for the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC. Our
third witness is Mr. Brian Renfroe, the National President for
the National Association of Letter Carriers, also in
Washington, DC. Our final witness is Ms. Tammy Hull, the
Inspector General for the U.S. Postal Service, as well in
Washington, DC.
Thank you to all of you for being here. We look forward to
hearing each of your testimony today, and pursuant to Committee
Rules I would ask that each of you limit your oral presentation
to a 3-minute summary in addition to your written statements
you have provided. The clock will count down from 3 minutes as
Committee members have many questions for you, and we would
like to spend as much time as possible on questions.
Pursuant to Committee Rule 8-D, and Committee practice,
however, we will not cutoff testimony until you reach the 5-
minute mark. I would also like to remind witnesses to be aware
of their responsibility to provide the accurate information as
they testify before the Subcommittee here today. At this time,
I will now recognize our first witness, Mr. Szymendera for your
testimony.
STATEMENT OF MR. SCOTT SZYMENDERA, CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH
SERVICE, U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mr. Szymendera. Thank you Chairman Mackenzie, Chairman
Walberg, Ranking Member Omar, members of the Subcommittee. I am
Scott Szymendera, and I am an Analyst at the congressional
Research Service. Thank you for inviting CRS to testify at this
hearing today.
Workers' compensation has been described as a grand bargain
between employers and their employees. For the Federal
Government and its workforce, the grand bargain is FECA, the
Federal Employees' Compensation Act. FECA provides compensation
for the duration of a worker's disability, which can last until
death.
While workers may choose to convert to Federal retirement
benefits, they are not required to do so, resulting in host
agencies paying benefits for some workers after their expected
retirement ages. Past FECA reform packages have included
proposals to reduce the amount of FECA compensation at
retirement age, to encourage workers to leave the FECA rolls
for Federal retirement.
However, converting from FECA to Federal retirement could
result in some workers, especially those injured early in their
Federal careers, receiving a reduced benefit at retirement age.
While most workers' compensation systems base the level of
compensation on two-thirds of a worker's pre-disability wage,
FECA provides augmented compensation in cases in which a
beneficiary has a spouse or dependents bringing the level of
compensation up to three-fourths of the pre-disability wage.
While augmented compensation provides additional resources
for a larger family, it exceeds the compensation offered by a
majority of State workers' compensation systems, and may result
in a beneficiary receiving more from FECA than what their net
pay would be if they returned to work.
Past reform packages have proposed increasing the base rate
of compensation, and eliminating augmented compensation. All
workers compensation systems have waiting periods of several
days before compensation is paid with these waiting periods
serving in similar ways to deductibles in other insurance
programs.
FECA is unique among workers' compensation programs in that
workers with traumatic injuries are eligible for up to 45 days
of continuation of pay at 100 percent of their regular salary
from their host agencies before receiving FECA compensation.
The FECA waiting period in these cases begins not at the time
of injury, but after the continuation of pay.
This postponement of the waiting period may blunt its
deductible function, and result in fewer injured Federal
employees sharing in the costs of their compensation. In 2006,
Congress moved the waiting period for postal workers to before
continuation of pay, and since then there have been proposals
to implement this change across the Federal Government.
This concludes the testimony of CRS. I would be happy to
answer any questions the Subcommittee may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Szymendera follows:]
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Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Next we will go to Mr.
Santos.
STATEMENT OF MR. LUIZ SANTOS, ACTING INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mr. Santos. Good morning, Chairman Mackenzie, Chairman
Walberg, Ranking Member Omar, Ranking Member Scott and members
of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify
today on our oversight of the Federal Employees' Compensation
Act Program.
FECA provides workers' compensation benefits to nearly 3
million Federal employees across all three branches of
government. In Fiscal Year 1924, the program paid approximately
3.7 billion in benefits to over 178,000 claimants. Because FECA
is the only remedy available to injured workers, and because
employing agencies bear the costs, it is critical that OWCP
adjudicate claims promptly, issue payments accurately, and
support workers in their recovery.
Equally important, OWCP must ensure taxpayers only pay for
medical benefits that are safe, effective, necessary and
economical. Our audits and investigations have shown that FECA
remains vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse, especially in its
pharmaceutical spending. Since fiscal year 1915, we have opened
over 320 investigations that alleged 320 true convictions, and
over 1.7 billion dollars in monetary outcomes. One notable case
involved two pharmacy owners who paid doctors kickbacks to
prescribe unnecessary compound creams.
These were often mixed in the backroom of pharmacies at a
cost of $15 per prescription, and then charged to FECA at
$16,000 each. The scheme led to a 405 million dollar
forfeiture, the largest involving a healthcare fraud case, and
very long prison sentences.
In addition to our investigative work, we have issued 33
audits and 79 recommendations over the past decade. Most
recently, we found FECA overspent up to 321 million on
prescription drugs between FY's `15 and `20, and allowed
thousands of inappropriate or dangerous prescriptions,
including fast-acting fentanyl, even after controls were in
place.
In response to your work, Mr. Chairman, OWCP has
significantly reduced pharmaceutical spending from 436 million
in fiscal year 1916, to 43 million in fiscal year 1924, and
strengthened oversight using data analytics in a pharmacy
benefit manager. While these are very positive steps, more
remains to be done.
To further improve FECA we recommend that Congress provide
OWCP with statutory access for Social Security wage records,
and NDNH move the 3-day waiting period to immediately follow
work-related injury, and authorize OWCP to suspend indicted
providers from participating in the program.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to testify, and
for the Committee's continued support of the OIG's work. I have
served now at the OIG for 15 years, and have very much enjoyed
working with the Committee, especially the staff, in many
critical oversight issues. I also want to pause a minute to
thank the dedicated OIG staff for their work. All of the
results I just spoke of are a result of their work, so thank
you for that, and I will be pleased to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Santos follows:]
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Chairman Mackenzie. Great. Thank you, Mr. Santos, and I
would concur that we do have excellent staff here on the
Committees, thank you for recognizing that. Next up I will
recognize Mr. Renfroe for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF MR. BRIAN RENFROE, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mr. Renfroe. Thank you, Chairman Mackenzie and Ranking
Member Omar for the invitation to testify. Thanks also to the
Subcommittee members for the chance to bring the voice and
views of America's 220,000 hard working letter carriers to this
hearing. I am a letter carrier from Hattiesburg, Mississippi,
who was drawn to work with my union, the National Association
of Letter Carriers in large part to protect the health and
safety of my fellow letter carriers.
We carry much of the Nation's communication and commerce on
our shoulders every single day. Five years ago during a global
pandemic, when most businesses shutdown, as the rest of the
Nation sheltered in place, letter carriers did not take 1 day
off. We were lifelines for the American people, delivering
letter mail, ballots, test kits, packages and providing a sense
of normalcy during a time of worldwide uncertainty.
As ecommerce continues to boom, the people of this country
are as dependent on our service, as they have ever been before.
While serving the American public, despite our best efforts to
avoid them, workplace injuries at the Postal Service are a fact
of life.
Vehicle accidents, repetitive motion injuries, heat stroke
or frostbite, or other injuries caused by weather extremes,
assaults by criminals, even more mundane injuries like slips
and falls are common in the working lives of the letter
carriers that I represent.
Workers' compensation programs like FECA are incredibly
important to America's working class, particularly, to those
with jobs like ours. The people who shower after work instead
of beforehand, the ones who earn their living with physically
taxing jobs, and those whose jobs expose them to the risks of
injuries, occupational hazards, and unfortunately, disabling
accidents.
The goal of the FECA Program is to ensure that no worker
suffers financially from their workplace injuries. Postal
employees account for nearly half of the claims made to the
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs each year, and letter
carriers file most of those claims.
When letter carriers are injured on the job, or develop
occupational diseases, FECA benefits provide critical financial
support, allowing them the time to heal, and rehabilitate, so
they can rejoin the workforce, or to compensate them for their
lost wages if they are permanently unable to do so.
I would like to bring the Subcommittee's attention several
ideas that will reduce the overall usage of workers'
compensation in the first place. The first is the hazard of
excessive heat. Letter carriers report hundreds of heat
injuries to the Postal Service annually. The Postal Services
productivity focus culture often even discourages us from
reporting these injuries.
Next is crime. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, postal
employees and city letter carriers in particular, have
experienced a significant increase in crime. Between 2019 to
2023, violent crime against postal employees nearly doubled.
More than two-thirds of these attacks involved a firearm, or
some other kind of weapon.
Tragically, five letter carriers have been murdered while
delivering mail since 2022. NALC is committed to working with
the Postal Service and Congress, to do everything we possibly
can to mitigate risk due to these factors and prevent injuries
of any kind. We work with the Department of Labor and OWCP
specifically, over multiple administrations, to improve
efficiency and claims processing, which benefits both the
Department and the injured worker.
We are committed to continuing that work throughout this
administration, just as we did during the first Trump
administration. When a letter carrier is injured, we must
ensure they receive the care and the help that they need.
Reducing benefits are making it harder for injured workers to
access care, or are contrary to the goals we all share, prompt
provisions of benefits to injured employees, and a more timely
return to the workplace.
Thank you again for inviting me to testify. I look forward
to answering any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Renfroe follows:]
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Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you, sir. Last, I will recognize
Ms. Hull for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF MS. TAMMY HULL, INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. POSTAL
SERVICE, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Ms. Hull. Thank you. Good morning Chairman Mackenzie,
Ranking Member Omar, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you
for inviting me here today to discuss our work related to the
Federal Employees' Compensation Act. When postal employees
sustain a work related injury, or occupational disease they are
covered by FECA.
While the Postal Service helps employees file claims, it
manages efforts to return injured employees to work, the
Department of Labor administers, implements and enforces FECA.
The Postal Service reimburses DOL from postal revenues, and the
workers' compensation costs are significant.
Last year it paid almost a billion and a half dollars in
claims, and an additional 96 million dollars in administrative
fees. Our work at the OIG found that the Postal Service is
taking steps to reduce its workers' compensation costs, but
more can be done to return employees to work and reduce costs.
We identified areas where current law restricts the Postal
Service from using private sector best practices, including
those adopted by some State governments. Allowing these best
practices would have saved the Postal Service almost 350
million dollars a year. One significant restriction is FECA
does not provide for settlement of claims through lump sum
payments, and correspondingly, does not have limits on total
compensation or length of benefits.
As of last fall, more than 600 postal employees aged 80 or
older were receiving benefits, three are currently 100 or
older. Claims are commonly paid over many years, tax free with
cost of living adjustments. Thus, the incentive for employees
to return to meaningful employment are minimized.
Other best practices include requiring employer selected
physicians and the use of generic medications when available.
We also do investigative work related to FECA. We coordinate
with DOL, OIG, to identify and investigate workers'
compensation fraud by postal employees and healthcare
providers.
Our investigative work in this area results in substantial
savings. We recently closed a case in Texas, along with DOL,
OIG, where pharmacies paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe
certain medications based on high reimbursement rates instead
of patient need.
This case returned about 100 million dollars to DOL. To
support this work, we embrace technology and data analytics.
For example, to identify provider fraud we implemented an in
house artificial intelligence and machine learning model that
identifies over billing for physical therapy and chiropractic
care.
Our work in this area has identified vulnerabilities, and
led to DOL making numerous policy changes in how it manages the
workers' compensation program, including limitations on
compounded drugs, billing restrictions, and third party
controls. Over time, we estimated the changes saved the Postal
Service and ratepayers over a billion and a half dollars.
These changes also resulted in cost savings for all
agencies with employees on workers' compensation, as well as
improved patient safety. Thank you again, and I am happy to
answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Hull follows:]
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Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Under Committee Rule 9, we
will now ask questions of witnesses under the 5-minute rule,
and I will recognize myself first for 5 minutes. My first
question is for Mr. Szymendera, under the FECA Program you
mentioned that injured workers with dependents can receive
augmented compensation at 75 percent of their wages.
For some FECA beneficiaries, a 75 percent tax rate wage
loss benefit exceeds their pre-injury gross income. Do you see,
or have you studied at all how this may serve as a disincentive
to return to work?
Mr. Szymendera. Well, it certainly could be a disincentive.
The, as you said, if you look at the actual take home pay, it
can be higher under FECA because you are talking about with
augmented compensation, 75 percent of the pre-disability wage,
tax free, and without other--many other payroll deductions.
Now, you cannot receive your normal Federal salary increases.
You cannot get a competitive or a merit raise or a
promotion while you are on FECA, but you do receive an annual
cost of living adjustment, even in years when Federal employees
that are working do not receive an adjustment. Certainly, this
has been identified as one potential disincentive for some
injured workers to return to the workforce.
Chairman Mackenzie. Your written testimony also notes that
the workers' compensation program in 38 states and the District
of Columbia, as well as Federal Longshore programs, have set
their benefits to two-thirds of a worker's gross wage, with no
augmented compensation for a worker's dependents. Can you
discuss how those programs are performing in comparison to
FECA, and what can we learn from those State models and the
Federal Longshore Program?
Mr. Szymendera. It is--always should exercise caution when
comparing the State workers' compensation programs, and even
the Federal Longshore Program with FECA because there are
differences that go beyond, even the level of compensation. For
example, most workers in this country receive workers'
compensation through State programs and through private
insurance companies.
There is a private insurance company, thus, it is a more
adversarial model that what you have in FECA, where you are
dealing only with the Department of Labor. States, as was
mentioned by the Postal Service Inspector General, states have
options for lump sum settlements of claims. FECA does not.
States--many states have caps on benefits, either a total
amount or an age cap, which can essentially force people off
their roles into work.
In addition, the majority of states limit the choice of
medical provider. Again, in FECA, you have a near unlimited
choice of treating physician. I think when you compare FECA to
the states, and you want to say well, are states putting more
people back to work? Do they have lower benefit durations and
things like that?
It is important to look at the whole package of benefits
under FECA, and I would say generally speaking, FECA is more
generous in its benefit to the administration, than what you
typically see in the State workers' compensation programs, or
even in the Federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation
Act Program.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Next, I will go to Mr.
Santos. Your written testimony highlighted many examples of
medical benefits fraud, and the impact on prescription opioid
abuse on the FECA Program. The Office of Inspector General's
Audits have provided critical assistance to DOL to help solve
those problems.
What further reforms would you recommend to further curb
medical fraud within the FECA Program?
Mr. Santos. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will preface my
response by giving OWCP quite a bit of credit for their
progress over the last 10 years. As a result of many of our
audit oversight work, as well as the result of our
investigations, and working closely with Postal OIG, and other
OIGs.
OWCP has taken several actions that have resulted in
improvements in both the prevention of improper payments and
fraud, as well as the overall management of the program. In
fact, we have seen both as it relates to the management of
compounded drugs, the actions they took in response, as well as
the management of opioids in the program, significant progress
on the part of OWCP.
Having said that, there are two recommendations that we
have to Congress that we believe would further strengthen the
program, and provide OWCP with additional tools to prevent
improper payments, and fraud in particular. The first one is to
authorize OWCP to access Social Security wage records, as well
as the National Director of New Hires, which provides
contemporaneous information about the employment of individuals
in the United States.
In doing so, it would afford OWCP representatives to cross
match that information to identify the reporting of income or
outside employment. We have also recommended, and this is a
long-standing recommendation of the OIG, for OWCP to be
authorized to suspend radical providers who were indicted for
fraud, involving the FECA Program.
Under current law, OWCP can continue to pay for services
being provided by medical providers that we, or other OIGs have
indicted, with crimes associated with fraud against the OWCP
Program.
Chairman Mackenzie. It sounds like some good
recommendations there. Thank you. With that, I will conclude my
time, and I will now recognize the Ranking Member for the
purpose of questioning the witnesses.
Ms. Omar. Thank you Chairman. Again, thank you all for
being here with us today, and for your testimoneys. Mr.
Renfroe, if we are to think about some of the challenges that
letter carriers experience while navigating the FECA process.
If you were to start with the challenge that your members
experience, what are some reforms that Congress should consider
that would be timely and high-quality, a high-quality claim
process and benefit awards?
Mr. Renfroe. The question is very timely. As I mentioned in
my opening, we have made a significant amount of progress in
recent years with OWCP, but one issue that continues to be
prevalent is access to physicians that treat the employees,
injured Federal employees.
Legislation has just recently been introduced entitled
Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal
Employees Act, and this is bipartisan legislation that would
expand that access to include physicians assistants, and nurse
practitioners. It really is a common sense solution to that
problem that follows a trend that we have seen in the larger
and healthcare really outside of our world around the country.
Ms. Omar. Thank you. It is fascinating, and I think you
talk about accessing physicians, and then we talked about how,
you know, one of the other witnesses talked about how there is
no cap on who you could see in regards to the benefits, so it
is fascinating to see that sort of discrepancy.
Mr. Chairman, I am requesting unanimous consent to enter
into the record a document provided by the Workers' Injury Law
and Advocacy Group, summarizing stories provided by workers'
compensation attorneys of challenges that their clients have
faced in the FECA Program.
Chairman Mackenzie. Without objection.
[The Information of Ms. Omar follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Omar. I ask for unanimous consent to enter into the
record a redacted letter from OWCP informing a FECA claimant
that an appeal hearing could not take place because the
administration has canceled its contract for court reporters
who transcribed hearings.
Chairman Mackenzie. Without objection.
[The Information of Ms. Omar follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Omar. Mr. Renfroe, how important is it for workers to
be able to have a timely and fair hearing in their cases?
Mr. Renfroe. I think it is very important. I think it is
important, of course, for the injured employee to get the
benefits that the law entitles them to. I also think it is very
much in the best interest of the Department of Labor, and the
best interests of OWCP to be able to provide those benefits as
efficiently as possible.
The hearing and adjudication process is a part of that for
some that file claims. You mentioned that there have been
recent changes in regards to the availability of court
reporters due to contracts, we have seen some delayed hearings
in recent months, as a result of those actions, so we would
very much be in favor of improving or eliminating any barrier
to timely access to whatever step in the process, even if that
was a step that required a hearing.
Ms. Omar. I appreciate that. Ms. Hull, you have heard
President Renfroe testify that the risk that letter carriers
and other Postal Service employees face from heat stress, which
can cause heat related illnesses, such as heat cramp, organ
damage, heat stroke, and even death. What has your office found
regarding USPS's need to protect workers from heat stress?
Ms. Hull. Yes, we did a review. I think we issued the
report. It was about a year ago, I believe, related to the heat
issues that postal employees experience, and found that
obviously significant problem.
We did evaluate what the Postal Service was doing to
protect its employees from heat, and found that they were doing
a pretty good job of providing equipment, and things like that
to protect employees, but we found real challenges in the
training area, making sure that employees were adequately
trained, that training records were accurate, and that
employees actually completed training, so that they knew when,
you know, if they were experiencing symptoms that they should
stop and take a break and get water, and those kinds of things.
We have done work in that area, and we are keeping our eye
on it in case we need to do some additional work in that space.
Ms. Omar. How do you see overcoming some of these
challenges with training, and with the workers when we are
seeing layoffs take place, and folks having to take on extra
routes, and they have to complete it within the amount of hours
they were already doing their previous routes?
Ms. Hull. Yes. I think that management has to be aware of
the stress that the employees are under, and manage that stress
effectively. Also, I think that it is really important that the
Postal Service rolls out the vehicles with air-conditioning as
part of the vehicle itself, so that it is hard to believe that
there are still vehicles on the road delivering mail that do
not have air-conditioning in this day and age.
That is an important factor in this as well, that I am sure
Mr. Renfroe could speak more effectively to then even I could
answer.
Ms. Omar. I appreciate that. Thank you. I yield back.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Next, we will go to Chairman
Walberg.
Mr. Walberg. Thank you Mr. Chairman, thanks for the panel
for being here, and while I have you here, letter carriers, I
want to say thank you for the service you provide. Being in a
rural area myself, it is a rural letter carrier. I think you
have most recently retired Gene, who took special attention to
my late mother, who lived in a cottage on our property out on
the farm.
Gene always was sure where my mom was at, and special needs
were cared for. I did not get the same care, but my mom did, so
thank you. Thank you for the work that you do day in and day
out. Last Thursday, Congressman Joe Courtney and I introduced
H.R. 1370, or 3170, Improving Access to Workers' Compensation
for Injured Federal Workers Act.
This bipartisan bill amends FECA to allow injured workers
to receive treatment for work related injuries from State
licensed physician assistants and nurse practitioners, which in
my neck of the woods, are in many cases the doctors in the
rural community. This is prohibited under current law, and is
contributing to long delays in care for many Federal workers.
Delays in care means delays in injured workers returning to
their jobs, and nurse practitioners and physician assistants
that are a critical component in our healthcare delivery
network, and if we are trying to make the Federal Government
more efficient, it makes no sense to prohibit workers from
receiving care from a reputable NP or PA.
H.R. 3170 updates the Federal Employee's Compensation
Program to make it more efficient by improving access to care,
and getting Federal employees back to work quicker. Mr.
Szymendera, as I mentioned under current law, only physicians
can certify a worker compensation claim in the FECA Program.
That is why Congressman Courtney and I introduced H.R. 3170
to allow NPs and PAs to treat FECA beneficiaries. Can you
describe how this change would increase access to care for
injured Federal workers, especially for those in rural areas?
Mr. Szymendera. One of the great strengths, one of the
great advantages of the FECA Program is the right to choose
your treating physician. That is a right that is not given in a
number of State worker's compensation programs.
However, there have been persistent complaints about FECA
and the other OWCP programs that while you have the right to
choose your treating physician, there is not a treating
physician available for you to choose, especially when you are
outside of the Washington area, or other metropolitan areas
that have potentially a lot of Federal employees.
Expanding the pool of providers to include nurse
practitioners, physician assistants, or as I think their
national academy now prefers referred physician associates
could expand the pool, and allow greater access to physicians.
It also could bring certain non-traditional facilities such as
urgent care clinics, or medical clinics and retail stores into
a greater role in providing care.
The question that would have to be--remain to be seen is
would this be enough to offset the problems that have got us
here in the first place, with why we do not have enough
physicians doing the treating? I have heard complaints about
issues with the billing system, issues with frequent changes in
the payment system that frustrate physicians and their staff.
Difficulty with websites, including difficulty that the
claimants have navigating the website where you could find a
physician, and an overall lack of awareness, for lack of a
better word, marketing, of the program to providers. Increasing
the pool, I think, would increase accessibility, but it is not
the only potential solution to the problems of access to
medical care.
Mr. Walberg. It is a start. Okay, thank you. In the final
few seconds, Mr. Santos, you intimated the need for the ability
for OWCP to access Social Security information. Expand on why
that would be an important asset?
Mr. Santos. Thank you Mr. Chairman. It would be very
helpful for OWCP to have access to both Social Security wage
records, as well as a national direct for new hires. It would--
OWCP would be able to more quickly identify unreported income
by claimants, as well as detect claims who have returned to
work.
It would--also allowing for the timely and automated
matching, cross matching of these systems, would improve fraud
prevention overall, improper payments, prevention overall, as
well as help the OWCP direct its very limited resources to
those claims that require more attention from an upfront
prevention perspective.
On the backend, it would assist the OIG in our efforts to
investigate related crimes.
Mr. Walberg. Save the proper funds for the proper
recipients.
Mr. Santos. That is right.
Mr. Walberg. Thank you, I yield back.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Next, we will go to Ranking
Member Scott.
Mr. Scott. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Santos,
you mentioned the scheme involving compound drugs where I think
you mentioned they mix up 15 dollars' worth of materials, then
charge $16,000. Did you refer any of the doctors or physicians
to the licensing boards as that investigation was going on?
Mr. Santos. Thank you, Ranking Member Scott. I know this is
a matter that is close to your heart. We have discussed this
with your office for many years now. These cases go back to
really the beginning of the issues involving compounded creams,
which were originally identified by both our office and Postal
OIG office.
In the course of our investigations we have referred many
medical providers, to include doctors, to their respective
boards for suspension as well.
Mr. Scott. Has the actions of DOGE reduced your capacity to
do your job, canceling leases, credit cards, or anything?
Mr. Santos. Thank you, Ranking Member. There has been some
limited impact on the ability of Labor OIG to conduct its work.
I believe four of our leases were included in the
governmentwide cancellation of commercial leases. Since then, I
have engaged with both the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary
that DOL manages our Space Program.
They have been very supportive of the need for Labor OIG to
continue maintaining these geographic locations. Many of these
offices were law enforcement offices, so we have very specific
space requirements such as weapons storage, Grand Jury
information, evidence rooms, interview rooms.
My understanding at this point in time is that some of
these decisions are being revisited, and we are certainly
hopeful that we will be able to maintain these locations.
The same is true for the purchase cards and the travel
cards. OIG was, in fact, impacted originally by having the
suspension of both purchase cards and travel cards. I engaged
with DOL leadership immediately, and within hours they
understood the requirement for law enforcement to continue its
work, and reverse those decisions, so again, it has had some
limited impact on our work.
Mr. Scott. Thank you. Can you say whether or not FECA is
more vulnerable to fraud than other health insurances?
Mr. Santos. I cannot say that, Ranking Member Scott. I
believe that the issues we find in the FECA Program as it
relates to both claimant fraud and medical provider fraud are
very similar to the issues that are identified by other law
enforcement programs, programs such as Tri-Care or Medicare, or
Medicaid, or in the private sector.
The same types of schemes and targeting of the system. We
see that in the FECA Program as well so now I think it is very
much a similar situation than many other healthcare benefit
programs.
Mr. Scott. Thank you. Mr. Renfroe, we have heard about the
problems with heat and crime. There is a legislation that has
been pending about heat stress where at certain temperatures
and what not, you have you take certain actions. Are you
prevented--you have been trained, apparently, to recognize
problems, workers have been trained.
Is there any limitation or resistance in them taking a
break when the heat gets to a certain temperature? Humidity is
a certain temperature? When heat stroke is much more possible?
Mr. Renfroe. The Postal Service has a heat illness
prevention plan, a HIPP, as it is called in place. It has been
in place for a few years. In fact, the earlier discussions that
OIG Hull was referencing about training, that the issue we had
with training a couple of years ago, is part of that HIPP.
The problem with that HIPP is it does not include all of
the necessary mitigating factors that experts recommend to
avoid the hazard of excessive heat, such as a regimented work-
rest, a work-rest regime when an employee is not in the heat
for a period of time due to vacation, or illness, or they are
off work, and acclimatization period when they return.
Those are currently missing from the plan. There is a
pending rule that would apply a heat safety standard to workers
all across the country. We have, of course, been in
communication with the Department of Labor about that.
Mr. Scott. Okay. I am trying to----
Mr. Renfroe. We strongly support that rule.
Mr. Scott. Thank you. Mr. Szymendera, do you know how long
it takes to get a disability claim appealed, if you have a
problem? You disagree with the analysis?
Mr. Szymendera. I do not have that data available.
Mr. Scott. Does anybody on the panel? Does anybody on the
panel know how long it takes to take a disability appeal? Thank
you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Next, we will go to Mr. Fine
from Florida.
Mr. Fine. Well, thank you Mr. Chairman, and thanks for
having this important hearing today. Before I get to my
question, I would note my perspective on this. I think it is
incredibly important that we take care of those who get hurt on
the job when they are working with the Federal Government.
I do not think anybody disagrees with that. Fraud puts the
legitimacy of any of those types of programs at risk, and more
importantly, the way I look at the world is when you give a
dollar to someone who did not deserve it, you steal it from
someone who did.
Eventually, we are going to come up in a world where we run
out of money, and so if we do not get rid of the fraud, we are
going to end up cutting the things that we actually need to do.
Ms. Hull, in your written testimony you talked about--
expressed support for using technology and data analytics when
reviewing FECA expenditures. You talked about using AI, and
machine learning models to identify over billing, which is a,
you know, nice way of putting fraud, over billing for physical
therapy and chiropractic treatments.
Using those technologies, what kinds of analytics, what
have you learned from doing it, and in effect how much fraud
have you uncovered by doing that?
Ms. Hull. We have worked closely with DOL OIG in this
space, but we have a pretty sophisticated data analytics
program, and have used it, and pointed it at this data set to
identify fraudulent activity. In some cases, we have identified
upcoding, or use of codes that are--that result in higher
reimbursement rates.
We have identified employees that are getting significant
travel reimbursements to drive hours and hours for treatment,
and things like that, which is in some cases, can be
fraudulent. We have identified providers that are prescribing
these compounded pharmaceuticals, as we have talked about
earlier.
We cannot--we see lots of potential fraudulent activity in
this space. We have opened at the Postal Service OIG, we have
opened about 1,000 cases in the last 5 years related to
claimant fraud, and another, over 100, related to provider
fraud, and worked many of those jointly with Luiz's staff at
DOL OIG.
There is a lot there. The more we look using data analytics
at this data set, the more concerns that we have in some of
these areas from providers, but also from, in some cases,
claimants. The issue that Luiz raised about identifying people
that have gone back to work, and that are being compensated
through other jobs while they are on the rolls, on the periodic
rolls for their--the Postal Service.
Many of our 1,000 cases that I was talking about are in
that space, where we have identified postal employees that are
receiving benefits, but are also working other jobs.
Mr. Fine. If I were to put that into analytic terms in
numbers, it sounds bad. Are we talking about like $100,000
worth of fraud, a million, ten million, 100 million, a billion?
We are talking about roughly 3 billion dollars here. What is
your--based on the analytics you have done, what is the scope
of the problem? How many zeros come after the numbers?
Ms. Hull. Yes. It is probably in the hundreds of millions
of dollars in certain aspects. What we see, because the Postal
Service employees often, and employees in this space can go on
the periodic rolls. If they are committing fraud, they are not
going to come off the rolls until they are investigated and are
required to come off the rolls.
An employee that goes on the rolls when they are early in
their career, 20-30 years-old, in their career, that is a long-
term liability, so that is, you know, a million dollars or more
over a career, so.
Mr. Fine. That is hundreds of millions of dollars that is
either being taken from a postal worker, or somebody else who
actually has a problem, but that needs help, or that is money
that we are borrowing from our grandkids to give to people who
do not need it. Is that a reasonable way to look at it?
Ms. Hull. It is. It is.
Mr. Fine. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Next, we will go to Mr.
Messmer from Indiana.
Mr. Messmer. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Szymendera, under the
FECA Program, current scheduled awards pay a fixed number of
weeks for loss or impairment of a body part, based on written
tables, written decades ago. How should Congress update the
scheduled framework so the awards track contemporary medical
impairment guides, and labor market related realities?
Mr. Szymendera. Yes, in fact, it is the current schedule
basically goes back to 1966. It has not been substantially
changed since then. Since that time, for example, the American
Medical Association guides to the evaluation of permanent
impairment is now in its sixth published edition, with now
annual digital updates, meaning if you considered that, and
that is a guide used throughout workers' compensation,
including in the FECA Program.
They are updating that multiple times. Now, annually
updating it, and yet the schedule awards have not been updated
since 1966.
Another comparison to VA, the VA in the VASRD, Veteran
Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities, since 2017 alone, has
updated their rating system for hundreds of medical conditions
across ten major body systems.
There certainly is an opportunity for change, but only
Congress can make the change. There is nothing in the law that
allows for a change in the scheduled benefits through
rulemaking. Meaning, it is going to take a law to amend it.
If a goal is to increase flexibility going forward, then
one thing certainly to consider is allowing for changes to be
made through rulemaking rather than through Congress.
That is, for example, how the VA changes its schedule of
rating disabilities. That is also how other compensation
programs utilize that as well, but there certainly is an
opportunity for change. It has not been changed since 1966, but
only Congress can make that change.
Mr. Messmer. Thank you. Mr. Santos, inter-agency
communication and coordination are integral to the operation of
the FECA Program. The Department of Labor's Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs works with Federal agencies and the
workers to process claims, provide benefits, and return
employees to work. Which aspects of the inter-agencies
communication and coordination are working well, and which ones
are not?
Mr. Santos. Thank you, Representative. We--our office has
not looked at this specific issue recently, but I recognize the
importance of all that OWCP to maintain these lines of
communication. It assists with both the claimant in receiving
the benefits that they are entitled to, as well as the
agencies, right, in communicating directly with OWCP.
This has been brought to my attention previously, and I
understand that OWCP is also aware of limitations that they
have in communicating with the agencies. We have tried to
facilitate that access on the part of OIGs by facilitating
access through data, through documents, through information.
My understanding is also that OWCP has put in place a
protocol, I believe in 2017, to facilitate this communication
between OIGs who may be investigating claimant fraud, and OWCP,
so they can more readily receive the information, but we
recognize that this is an area that where only OWCP can make
improvements.
I would note, I think from their perspective, and again, I
cannot speak for OWCP, but they have reported that I believe
each one of their claim examiners are responsible for over 500
claims at a given moment, and the industry average should be
between 120 and 200, so some of this is a reflection on
resource constraints on the part of OWCP as well, but we
recognize that more can be done.
Mr. Messmer. Thank you. Ms. Hull, your office's 2023 report
found that the cost per work hour of postal workers
compensation program runs 31 to 41 percent higher than the
private industry. It also found that the USPS could have saved
nearly 693 million dollars in just 2 years, had it be able to
use private sector cost containment tools.
Which cost containment mechanisms should the Congress
authorize the USPS to adopt, so that its workers' compensation
program more closely mirrors private sector practices?
Ms. Hull. Yes, as part of that work we looked at how others
were managing their costs in their workers' compensation
programs. What we saw was things like limitations on dollar
amounts and duration of benefits. We saw something that I
mentioned, my statement about allowing settlements to reduce
the ongoing cost, buyouts and settlements to help reduce the
costs.
We also looked at the use of employer selected physicians,
versus employee selected physicians. Those are three of the
areas that we saw were common in private sector, and in State
workers' compensation programs that FECA does not have.
Mr. Messmer. Okay. Thank you. I yield back my time.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you. Next is Ms. Miller from
Illinois.
Mrs. Miller. Thank you. Mr. Santos, under the current FECA
Program there have been instances of workers reporting an
injury to collect disability benefits while they are
subsequently found to be secretly working another strenuous
job. What is being done to increase oversight, and address this
fraud and abuse within FECA.
Mr. Santos. Thank you, Representative. This has been a
concern of ours from an OIG perspective for many years. Not
only our office, but also Postal OIGs, and many other OIGs, who
are responsible for investigating claimant fraud associated
with their own programs.
Many years ago, following the issues we identified jointly
with Postal OIG on the compounded drug matters, Congress took
action, and provided both the authority and the funding for all
OWCP to create what's called a Program Integrity Unit, which
has been in many ways a model of how this should be looked at
from an oversight perspective.
They are constantly using data analytics, so is our office,
as well as Postal OIG, to look at the claims because what we
have found, particularly over the pandemic, is that data really
is the key to provide adequate and comprehensive oversight of
these matters. Then, the Program Integrity Unit refers those
cases to my office, which then we take action in investigating
these matters.
It remains a concern, certainly from our perspective, but
to OWCP's credit, they are doing a better job of identifying
these matters, and sending it our way for investigations. We
also work very closely with other OIGs to pursue to those
cases.
Mrs. Miller. Thank you. Related to this, there are also
some instances of injured workers who continue to claim
benefits long after they have recovered. What is being done to
ensure this abuse of FECA benefits is reduced?
Mr. Santos. Yes. That is also a very important matter and a
concern for our office for quite some time. This is one of the
reasons we have recommended that Congress, in looking at
potential reforms for the program, authorize OWCP, and
specifically the Program Integrity Unit I mentioned, to have
access to Social Security, wage records, as well as the
National Director of New Hires.
The NDNA specifically has updated information on income and
employment. This is an HHS data base. I believe employers are
required to update the data base within 20 days. Providing that
access to OWCP would facilitate in this data matching and data
analytics program I have referenced.
Then, in identifying when claimants have returned to work,
or at times when they are under reporting their earnings, which
is also important.
Mrs. Miller. Those sound like good solutions. We need to
make it happen. Also, I was wondering is there any public
recourse for reporting of these of the system?
Mr. Santos. In what sense specifically?
Mrs. Miller. Well, I am just--like is there any kind of
portal where people are listed?
Mr. Santos. Yes.
Mrs. Miller. Oh, there is one?
Mr. Santos. Not where it lists, but certainly we have a
venue for individuals who are aware of complaints, or are aware
of allegations against Federal employees, who maybe are
continuing to receive the FECA.
Mrs. Miller. Okay.
Mr. Santos. As well as the medical provider fraud. Not only
do we, Labor OIG, operate our own hotline where individuals can
report these matters to. I understand that all OIGs have
similar hotlines where they can be reported to. Absolutely,
there is a venue for individuals who bring these matters to our
attention.
Mrs. Miller. Okay. That is fantastic. Thank you. Ms. Hull,
the U.S. Postal Service has an annual operating revenue of 78
billion, and over a half a million career employees. In my home
State of Illinois, a 2021 investigative report showed that the
USPS in Chicago has four of the worst performing offices, with
that report showing 62,000 mail items were delayed over several
months.
The Inspector General report also found that rates of
improper scanning, and handling of hundreds of packages, were
as high as 50 percent. What is being done to address these
deficiencies in the Chicago USPS offices?
Ms. Hull. Yes, great question. Chicago has been a
challenging area for the Postal Service for a very long time.
We issued the report that you are speaking of, and made
recommendations to the Postal Service to address some of the
causes of the problems that we saw. I do not know the status of
those recommendations right now, but we can get the status and
get back to you on it.
We are continuing to do work around the country and in
Chicago, looking at service issues, in particular, because
clearly there are some hot spots around the country where
service is challenging.
Mrs. Miller. Well, thank you, and we would be very
grateful.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you.
Mrs. Miller. I yield back.
Chairman Mackenzie. I appreciate that. Next, we will go to
Mr. Courtney from Connecticut.
Mr. Courtney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the
waiver, and to the Ranking Member for the waiver that allows me
to participate today. Again, and just as the lead co-sponsor on
the Democratic side for H.R. 3170, I just wanted to just foot
stomp a couple points that were made by Mr. Renfroe and Ms.
Omar, who raised this issue earlier in her questioning.
This is a bill which has been introduced a number of times.
Actually, it goes back to 2011. It recognizes that direct
access to nurse practitioners and physician assistants is
widely sort of embraced now in the health care system, both at
the State level and the Federal level.
The Medicare system has allowed direct billing by nurse
practitioners and PAs for almost a decade at this point, and
again, if anything again it has provided patients with access
at a very stressed time, in terms of physician shortages.
The American College of Medical Colleges and Universities
reports that we are going to have a physician shortage of about
86,000 at the rates we are going right now in terms of
retirements.
You know, the inadequate replacement, so the issue of
physician access in terms of just the global system, is
anything going to worsen if we do not sort of provide other
options? Again, Mr. Renfroe, your testimony again, I think
powerfully demonstrated what the need is, particularly in rural
parts of the country.
Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to enter into the
record a letter of support from the American Association of
Nurse Practitioners for H.R. 3170 as well as a letter in
support of the legislation from the Worker's Injury Law and
Advocacy Group.
Chairman Mackenzie. Without objection.
[The Information of Mr. Courtney follows:]
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Mr. Courtney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In my remaining
time, Mr. Renfroe, you heard Ms. Hull testify in favor of
basically overriding employee's right to seek their own
healthcare provider, and instead take doctors that are on a
list provided by the Postal Service. What is the letter
carriers' position on that type of possible change?
Mr. Renfroe. Yes. We would be very much opposed to
modifying the current ability of Federal employees that are
injured's right to seek their own provider that treats injured
Federal employees. I think you highlighted very well the need
to expand those treatment options.
I would also just like to comment on a couple of other
points that were raised in the OIG report. The recommendations
regarding lump sum payments as opposed to continuing benefits,
there is an issue raised about requiring those that are injured
to, again, taking an OPM annuity at age 65. We are very
staunchly opposed to those type of reforms.
As I mentioned earlier, the most pressing issue is access
to care, and this legislation would go a long way toward
addressing that. I will note one piece that I think is
important that was recommended in the OIG's report, and that is
the maximize the usage of generic prescription drugs.
We are in full support of that as that is also become, you
know, a trend sort of across the health care industry.
Mr. Courtney. Again, the OIG's Office has done really
impressive work in terms of identifying waste, fraud and abuse,
which you know, Ms. Hull's briefed the staff here, and kudos
again, to OIG. Letter carriers completely support all efforts,
right, to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the system?
Mr. Renfroe. We 100 percent support efforts to crack down
on waste, fraud, and abuse because the impact of expenses that
are eventually passed on to the Postal Service is very much, as
it was described earlier, potentially could result in benefits
not being paid to someone who is entitled to them under the
law.
I think it is important for me to mention my union has
invested very heavily in representing our employees that are
injured. One of the primary reasons, beyond of course ensuring
that they received their benefits, is to make the process as
efficient as we possibly can.
We have also engaged directly through beginning with the
Obama administration, the first Trump administration, the Biden
administration. Now, with the second Trump administration, with
OWCP to improve and modernize processes to offer them the
perspective of the individual that is filing the claim, and we
have made a lot of progress.
This was mentioned earlier in recent years with OWCP, and
we really believe that we can continue to do that. It is
important to us that benefits are paid efficiently to those who
are entitled to them under the law, but we certainly are
supportive of efforts to eliminate fraud, to eliminate waste,
to eliminate abuse of the program, so long as it does not
result in--I think we have to be careful that we do not impact
those that do--are entitled to those benefits to ensure they
receive them, but yes, sir, we would 100 percent support any of
those efforts.
Mr. Courtney. Great. Thank you, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you, and seeing no further
questions, we will conclude the interviewing and questioning of
witnesses, and now we will move to closing remarks. At this
time, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member for her
closing remarks.
Ms. Omar. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you once again to
our witnesses for speaking with us today. Today's hearing has
reaffirmed a simple, but powerful truth. The Federal Employee's
Compensation Act is not just a program, it is a promise. A
promise to Federal workers who deliver our mail, guard our
transportation system, inspect our food, and respond in times
of crises.
These workers are not statistics or budget items. They are
people who make our government function, and when they are
injured or fall sick through their work, they deserve a system
that works for them, not against them. We have heard important
testimony today about FECA's strengths, but we have also heard
about its shortcomings--outdated procedures, delays in care,
and burdensome claim process.
These are solvable problems, and as we have seen before,
bipartisan cooperation can deliver meaningful, lasting reforms.
Let us be clear. Any reform must keep one question front and
center--how does this help workers and their families? We
cannot lose sight of that. This means not only supporting
workers after injury, but also preventing injuries and death in
the first place.
Investment in workplace safety, like training, protective
gear, and commonsense protections, such as the proposed OSHA
Heat Stress Rule, are both morally right and fiscally savvy.
Fewer injuries and illnesses mean fewer claims, lower costs,
and a stronger and more resilient system for everyone.
What we cannot do is follow the course of workers'
compensation changes in the states which have cut benefits to
the bone and pushed workers into poverty. I ask unanimous
consent to enter into the record a policy position from the
American Public Health Association entitled, ``The Critical
Need to Reform Workers' Compensation,'' which lays out the
problems of State systems that we must avoid if we are
committed to prioritizing the health and well-being of workers.
Chairman Mackenzie. Without objection.
[The information of Ms. Omar follows:]
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Ms. Omar. The story I shared earlier of the injured letter
carrier from Minnesota reminds us of what is truly at stake.
His life was upended in an instant, and while he may never work
again, FECA ensures that he and his family are not abandoned.
That is what this program is about. That is what this
conversation is about, and so let us take today's testimony to
heart, and let us build on the bipartisan progress already
underway.
We must ensure that FECA continues to reflect the best of
our values of compassion, fairness, and respect for those who
serve our country, our constituents every day. Thank you, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman Mackenzie. Thank you to the Ranking Member. Now, I
will deliver my closing remarks. First of all, I would just
like to thank all the members of the Subcommittee for taking
part in today's important hearing on FECA, and also to all of
our witnesses for sharing their perspectives on how we can
actually improve the program as we move forward.
I think that we have all seen that after the 109 year law
having not been updated in the past 50 years, that it is long
overdue that we make changes that bring us into the realities
of the 21st Century, closing and cracking down on those issues
of waste, fraud and abuse in the system, but at the same time,
making sure that we deliver for those injured workers, the
benefits that they deserve.
As we move forward in this process, I look forward to
engaging in a bipartisan fashion with the members of the
Subcommittee, the members of the Full Committee, and the
outside stakeholders here, and others who may be interested. We
appreciate all the input that we are gathering here today, but
again, I think there is a path forward to do both of those
things, crack down on waste, fraud and abuse, and make sure
that we are providing for injured Federal workers.
With that, we will continue our important work to seek out
possible solutions, and look forward to doing that in a
bipartisan fashion. Again, I would like to thank our witnesses
for joining us, and testifying before the Subcommittee today,
and without that, there will be no further business, and
Subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:33 a.m., the Subcommittee on Workforce
Protections was adjourned.]
[Additional submissions from Ranking Member Omar follows:]
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[Additional submissions from Rep. Scott follows:]
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[Additional submissions from Rep. Walberg follows:]
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[Questions and responses submitted for the record by Mr.
Renfroe follows:]
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[Questions and responses submitted for the record by Mr.
Szymendera follows:]
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