March 4, 2008
A summary of daily news relevant to the federal workforce produced by the Partnership for
Public Service.
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Submit Your Nominations Today for the 2008 Service to America Medals: Less Than One Week
Remaining!
The Partnership for Public Service
Do you know an extraordinary federal employee who is doing remarkable work on behalf of our country? There is one month remaining to help them
receive the recognition they deserve and a chance to win up to $10,000 by nominating them for the 2008 Service to America Medals (Sammies).
With your help, the Sammies put a compelling human face on government service and seek to inspire a new generation of Americans to
serve.
The awards include cash prizes from $3,000 to $10,000 in the following categories:
- Federal Employee of the Year
- Career Achievement (requires 20+ years of government service)
- Call to Service (age 35 or younger, and 5 years or less of government service)
- Citizen Services
- Homeland Security
- Justice and Law Enforcement
- National Security and International Affairs
- Science and Environment
Click here to download the
2008 nominations flyer. Nominations must be submitted online at http://www.servicetoamericamedals.org/ by March 10, 2008 (extended deadline).
For more information, please send an email to awards@ourpublicservice.org or call Kristin Esham
at 202-775-9111.
Federal Pay Caught Up in Fiscal 2009 Budget Debates
The Washington
Post
By Stephen Barr
It's the start of budget season on Capitol Hill.
Congressional budget committees begin writing their fiscal 2009 spending plans this week, no doubt tossing out and reshaping many of President
Bush's priorities. Democrats and Republicans -- especially because it's an election year -- will be jousting over spending, taxes, health
care, Social Security and other entitlements.
It's uncertain where federal employees will end up in this debate.
Take next year's federal pay raise. The president has proposed a 2.9 percent raise for federal employees and a 3.4 percent raise for the military,
knowing that Congress prefers to provide equal pay raises to both groups.
In letters to budget committees, Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) reiterated that
Congress traditionally supports parity in pay adjustments between civilian and military personnel.
Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called it "unfortunate that the president has not embraced Congress's
longstanding policy of pay parity for military and civilian employees." Davis, the committee's ranking member, said he was "highly discouraged the
president has chosen to abandon the principle of pay parity."
Neither Waxman nor Davis made a specific pay recommendation to the House Budget Committee. Collins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, commended Bush's proposed raise for the military, adding that it is "my strong view that federal
civilian employees should be equally recognized for their efforts."
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, did not mention the 2009 government-wide pay issue in his
letter to the Senate Budget Committee.
Lieberman, though, said the 43,000 passenger and baggage screeners at the Transportation Security Administration, who are in a performance-based
pay system, should not lose out on the government-wide pay raise approved by Congress each year.
"Other DHS" -- Department of Homeland Security -- "employees in security, protective and law enforcement-related organizations at the
department receive the annual government-wide pay increase, and there is no reason to give TSA screeners less," Lieberman wrote.
Lieberman said he opposes a White House budget proposal to repeal legislation, signed by Bush last year, that provides a law enforcement
retirement benefit to Customs and Border Protection officers. Even though CBP officers carry weapons and make arrests, it was not until last year
that Congress acted to provide them with more generous retirement benefits.
Noting that Bush proposes increasing the size of the Border Patrol by 2,200 officers, Lieberman said Customs and Border Protection also is
understaffed at border crossings and other ports of entry. Bush would enlarge CBP by 212 officers, but Lieberman called for hiring more.
In his letter, Lieberman focused primarily on the Department of Homeland Security, pointing out what he considers to be funding shortfalls at the
TSA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Waxman took issue with an array of Bush initiatives, including a pilot project that the White House said would provide
incentives for federal agencies to sell off surplus property. Waxman said he wanted to retain preferences that put federal agencies and homeless
shelters at the front of the line to claim surplus government property. Davis, meanwhile, proposed expanding investment options in the Thrift Savings
Plan, the 401(k)-type program for federal employees. Any new options should include a real estate stock investment fund, he said.
Memo: Forest Service Pulls Consolidation Plan
Federal Daily
The Forest Service (FS) has shelved a consolidation plan that would have cut jobs and removed agency scientists and land planners from the
national forests they manage, said documents released Feb. 28 by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). FS had sought to combine
work now done by employees scattered among 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands into centralized service centers, PEER said. However, FS
signaled a change of heart in a Feb. 20 memo from Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell to top agency managers. In the memo, Kimbell wrote that the
agency-wide reorganization would be postponed to "avoid additional disruption and confusion." Kimbrell said that "after careful consideration" the
service "will not pursue these options at this time." The plan would have consolidated work performed under the National Environmental Policy Act,
the planning law that governs major resource decisions. According to the memo, FS will revisit the proposed reorganization plan "at a later time."
But with little time left in the Bush administration, it is unlikely that the plan will be revisited any time soon, PEER said. "This is welcome news
for an organization that has enough problems," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "The Forest Service is currently coping with crippling
proposed budget cuts and a radically shifting mission without a survival guide."
What I Do: I help federal agencies find new workers
Wisconsin State Journal
Name: Bob Lavigna
Age: 56
Home: Fitchburg
Occupation: Vice president of research for the Partnership for Public Service in Washington, D.C. Web site: http://www.ourpublicservice.org/
I'm the vice president of research for the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to helping inspire
people to enter federal government careers. The Partnership is located in Washington, D.C., and I "commute" by spending two weeks each month working
at the Partnership headquarters in Washington and two weeks telecommuting from my home in Fitchburg. I estimate that I've flown over 30,000 miles
since starting this position in August 2006.
I design and direct research projects that focus on finding new ways to attract, develop, engage and retain government talent. Most people don't
know that more than 85 percent of the 1.9 million federal employees work outside the D.C. Beltway, including in places such as Madison. In the next
five years, more than 530,000 federal employees will retire or otherwise leave the federal government. This unprecedented brain drain will create an
unparalleled talent challenge. Because the federal government affects all citizens in many ways, day in and day out, attracting and retaining talent
is critical.
At the Partnership, we help federal agencies meet this challenge by developing programs such as the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government
rating and ranking of over 280 federal agencies. Federal employees are asked if the agencies are good and effective places to work and if the agency
provides effective leadership, pay and benefits and work/life balance. It's a great resource for anyone interested in working for a federal agency
and the rankings also encourage federal agencies to improve.
The 45 employees at the Partnership are also involved in the Call to Serve program, which helps to educate college juniors and seniors in a
national network of 600 colleges, including UW-Madison and Edgewood, about careers in government. Another program, FedExperience, focuses on matching
retirees interested in pursuing an encore career with a federal agency.
I have a bachelor's degree in public affairs from George Washington University and a master's degree in human resources from Cornell University.
I've done doctoral work in human resources at UW-Madison. I was the administrator of the Wisconsin merit system, and also directed a statewide
labor-management cooperation program for 10 years. I served with the U.S. Government Accountability Office for 17 years.
While the federal government is huge and complex, there are enormous benefits in working to improve public perception and to inspire and motivate
people to see the value in public service.
Schools Left in Dark After Beef Recall
USA TODAY
By Greg Toppo
The massive recall of beef last month thrust school cafeterias into "uncharted territory" over food safety, prompting leading food service
directors to question whether the federal government's alert system is adequate to keep unsafe food off cafeteria lines.
Based on prepared congressional testimony to be delivered today, two officials with the School Nutrition Association are expected to urge the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update its recall communications system.
Delays in getting complete information about the recall of 143 million pounds of beef from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif., kept
school food officials in the dark about details, officials say.
"Until all products are properly disposed, we will be traveling uncharted territory in making sure we obtain all information from all sources that
are available to us," says Dora Rivas, director of child nutrition for Dallas schools.
Rivas says 12 days passed from Feb. 5, the day she heard from the state commodity office about a recall of one type of ground beef, which she
pulled, to Feb. 17, the day the USDA announced the full Westland recall.
She says it wasn't until Feb. 22 that Dallas knew the full extent of the recall and pulled all of the affected beef.
USDA officials were responding to videos showing workers at the plant inhumanely handling downer cattle bound for the slaughterhouse. Federal
regulations ban slaughtering cattle that can't walk for fear they're infected with mad cow disease.
The recall was the largest in USDA history. An estimated one-third of the beef was purchased for federal nutrition programs, including the
National School Lunch Program, which serves about 30 million children a day.
Testimony will take place at a hearing before the House Education and Labor Committee.
School Nutrition Association President Mary Hill says in her testimony that on Feb. 17, "we did not have the information we needed to respond to
the many questions we immediately received from very concerned parents."
Kate Houston, deputy undersecretary of Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, defends the agency in her testimony. The automated, Web-based alert
system was activated to contact meat recipients, with repeated follow-ups, she says. The USDA also worked with the Department of Education to spread
the word, she says.
