Berry delivers lecture on public service

Director of the United States Office of Personnel Management John Berry spoke yesterday in Robertson Hall on the value of “Public Service in the 21st Century” and the large-scale impact individuals can have by working with the federal government.

Berry, who hires and manages policies for the over 1.9 million federal civilian employees of OPM, framed his department’s role in the implementation of 2010 Affordable Care Act as an example of how he was personally able to make a “very big difference.”

For the 24 states and the District of Columbia that declined to design their own plan, OPM was charged with developing an insurance policy that would cover Americans who could not get coverage in the open market because of a preexisting condition such as cancer. Developed in 60 days, the plan was established with an overhead rate of 0.08 percent.

“Let me tell you, there are thousands of people in those states today who are greatly relieved that they can have insurance now where it wasn’t before,” he said.

He said that OPM was gearing up in particular for a “unique challenge” in 2014, when citizens will have the choice between a state plan and the national insurance plan.

In honor of LGBT History Month, Berry also reflected on his path to becoming the highest-ranking openly gay official to ever serve in the executive branch.

Berry said that after coming out to his father — who “didn’t take it very well” — at the age of 25, he realized that there are times when “the image that someone has of you essentially dies, and you need to give that person time and space to allow that image to heal.”

But Berry emphasized that he has been proud to work for an administration that has both repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and guaranteed that gays and lesbians can visit their partners in times of need at hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds.

“I was able to help the president draft a presidential memorandum extending employment benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees,” he said. “Imagine how many lives we touched and improved in a meaningful and tangible way.”

Another rewarding moment for Berry was the opportunity to apologize on behalf of the United States to WWII veteran and gay rights activist Frank Kameny, who was dismissed from work for his sexual orientation in 1957. Kameny, who passed away this week, worked in the U.S. Civil Service Commission — the predecessor to Berry’s OPM.

At the end of his talk, Berry urged students to not only follow their passions, but to keep in perspective the arc of history, which he called “a story of peaks and valleys.”

“Our own peak didn’t come easy. It was shaped by two world wars and a great depression,” he said. “But think, the men who walked on the moon still walk among us today. The phones in our pockets have access to more information than the library of Alexandria.”

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The challenge for the current generation is to find passions and help “give our country to the next generation, better, richer, more abundant than it was given,” he said.

“You’ve been given a plateau,” he told students. “Take it farther.”