The Foreign Service Journal, March 2013

66 MARCH 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 2012 AFSA ANNUAL REPORT AFSA NEWS Coordinator for Retiree Counseling and Legislation Bonnie Brown with Associate Coordinator for Retiree Counseling and Legislation Matthew Sumrak. In 2012, AFSA strongly opposed increased and inten- sified congressional efforts to reduce or eliminate federal benefits as a means of reduc- ing the federal deficit and using the resulting savings to fund non-related programs. Active Role In spite of our compara- tively small size, AFSA contin- ues to play an active role in the Federal and Postal Union Coalition, the umbrella orga- nization of federal active duty and retired employee asso- ciations and unions. AFSA joined more than two dozen federal and postal unions in the “America Counts on Us” campaign to reach key congressional candidates in their home districts, empha- sizing benefits issues and the importance of the federal work force. Matthew Sumrak, our new associate coordinator for retiree counseling and legis- Retiree Counseling And Legislation: Expanded Programs BY BONNIE BROWN, COORDINATOR FOR RETIREE COUNSELING AND LEGISLATION lation, served on the steering committee for the campaign and coordinated AFSA’s efforts to involve our mem- bers in town halls and cam- paign meetings. A registered lobbyist, Sumrak also joined the legislative team’s efforts on the Hill. Separately, AFSA President Susan Johnson sent a number of letters on behalf of AFSA to congressio- nal decision-makers oppos- ing cuts to federal benefits. Assistance and Counseling AFSA provided retiree members with assistance and counseling in more than 270 cases. While the issues were wide-ranging, most dealt with the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and Medicare (55), annuities (38), Social Secu- rity (19), death of annuitants (14), divorce (13) and survi- vor annuities (11). Retiree VP Mary Ellen Gilroy and AFSA retiree Governing Board members worked to increase retiree membership through a pilot phone membership recruit- ment campaign, along with receptions for new retirees, sponsored by AFSA and DACOR, at the Foreign Ser- vice Institute. Retiree Services contin- ued to publish the bimonthly AFSA Newsletter , giving retiree and active-duty mem- bers concise information on department policies, expla- nations of federal benefits and news about the on-going debt-reduction process. In addition, we oversaw produc- tion of AFSA’s annual Retiree Directory and regularly updated the often-visited retiree Web page o n www. afsa.org/retiree_services. aspx. New Programs Retiree Services added two new programs during 2012, beginning with sales of the Foreign Service Com- PHOTOSBYDONNAAYERST