FederalDaily - April 7, 2005
More Federal Information Classified as Secret
A non-profit organization called Open the Government issued a report saying
the federal government set a new record for keeping secrets in 2004, during
which government employees chose to classify information a record 15.6 million
times. Open the Government stated that its information is from the government's
Information Security Oversight Office, part of the National Archives and Records
Administration. The total number of secrecy decisions in 2004 was 10 percent
higher than the total in 2003. Also, the report said government employees last
year chose to keep their new secrets longer than in years past. To read the
full report, go to www.OpentheGovernment.org.
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Web Site Tallies Telework Savings
A new Web site, www.TeleworkExchange.org,
aims to demonstrate the value of federal telework initiatives and measure federal
agencies’ progress on telework requirements. The site is sponsored by
a partnership of private industries, Intel Corporation, CDW-G, Citrix and Juniper
Networks. The Web site has two calculators that tally the cost of federal employees
commuting. One calculator shows potential cost savings and the second shows
environmental impact. Federal employees can register on the site and log the
number of roundtrip miles they commute to work or avoided commuting by teleworking,
the number of days they work and the type of cars they drive. The calculators
automatically compute the potential cost savings and environmental benefits
associated with federal telework. The Web site also has a discussion platform,
called the Water Cooler, and a news resource, called The Teleworker.
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Hearing Examines DOE Scientists’ Lies
The House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organizations held
a hearing on April 5 on federal employees falsifying documents regarding the
Yucca Mountain Project (using Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a repository for
nuclear waste). “The announcement on March 16 that federal employees
falsified documents and models about water infiltration at Yucca Mountain is
of grave concern,” said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., at the hearing. “Also,
several Department of Energy (DOE) employees have raised questions on e-mail
about the accuracy of certain scientific instruments used in the evaluation
of project.” Reid said DOE should wait until the investigations by the
FBI, the Department of Justice and the inspector generals at the Departments
of Energy and Interior are completed before continuing any work related to
the license application for Yucca Mountain project. “All scientific data
must be fully re-examined and all work at Yucca Mountain should stop immediately,” said
Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev.
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IRS Contracts Tax Collection
The IRS is using this tax season to put into motion plans to hire private
sector debt collectors to go after U.S. taxpayers, a statement by the National
Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said. “There are a number of problems
with using debt collectors to collect income taxes,” said NTEU President
Colleen M. Kelley. She said a small investment in IRS enforcement personnel
would be a better way to collect tax debt. Under legislation approved last
year, the IRS is establishing a program that will turn over taxpayer information—including
income tax figures and Social Security numbers—to private sector debt
collectors, who will be paid up to 25 percent of the money they collect. NTEU
represents around 98,000 employees in the IRS.
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