Abortion-payment story draws reader response From time to time, we share letters to allow our readers an opportunity to speak out. The first is from a woman who has made it a practice not to speak out on policies of the Obama administration's Office of Personnel Management. But she couldn't keep quiet when she thought current OPM Director John Berry smeared her record during a news briefing about snow days. 'I know that the commute for many people in our region, they start out from faraway places, that commutes have to start early, and I think one of the errors of the past is that we waited too long,' OPM Director John Berry said. Over the course of three winter seasons during my tenure as OPM director, I always made the decision in time for a 4 a.m. announcement. The OPM team rapidly executed the announcement release to all recipients, as evidenced by the almost instantaneous television news coverage. It's disappointing to see Director Berry follow the unfortunate practice of criticizing prior administrations, but if he is going to do so, he should be more explicit and not leave open the possibility that the 'past' includes my tenure and many of the dedicated career professionals who serve him now. Linda Springer, OPM director under President George W. Bush Abortion is always a hot topic, as demonstrated by the amount of mail generated by the Dec. 1 Diary. It featured D.J. Feldman, a federal employee who personally paid for a medically necessary abortion because federal law prohibits federal subsidies. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is not allowed to pay for the procedure, except in limited situations.