FederalDaily - April 8, 2005
Property Stolen from Camp Lejeune
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) announced that it is in the
process of arresting and searching suspects allegedly involved in the theft
and sale of government property at and around Camp Lejeune , North Carolina
. Over the past several months, NCIS has been investigating multiple cases
of theft of government property and the illegal sale of that same stolen property.
The property includes individual-issue combat clothing and equipment, training
ordnance of various types, communications equipment and audio and visual equipment.
The property recovered to date is valued at $213,835. Almost 90 suspects, both
military and civilian, have been identified, including 58 Marines, two Sailors
and 28 civilians.
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DoD Discusses Transformation
The Department of Defense (DoD) is working to reduce stress on the force
and negate the need for more people in uniform, Undersecretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness David S. C. Chu said in testimony on April 5 before
the Personnel Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said
DoD is working to transform the military through four ways:
- limiting the involuntary mobilization of individual reservists;
- rebalancing the mix of active and reserve-component forces
to make the most of needed skill sets;
- speeding military-to-civilian conversions to free up forces
for military duties; and
- investing in new technologies, precision weapons, unmanned
air and sea vehicles, and other less manpower-intensive platforms
and technologies to relieve stress on the force.
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NTEU Reveals IRS Cuts
National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley said
earlier this week that the IRS plans to cut back its nationwide walk-in and
telephone customer service operations. While the IRS has not yet provided specific
information either to NTEU or to affected employees, Kelley said “my
understanding is that the agency is reviewing options that include closing
either 105 TACs [Taxpayer Assistance Centers], affecting 528 employees, or
67 TACs, affecting 516 employees.” She said the union will strongly oppose
this IRS initiative, and that a better course of action would be for Congress
to appropriate sufficient funding for the IRS.
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Civil Rights Commission’s Spending is Questionable
In a study of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR), the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) recently found that the commission did not adequately justify
much of its spending in FY 2003. GAO said tests of the commission’s $4.9
million of non-payroll related transactions, including travel and procurement,
found serious deficiencies in supporting documentation. Because of these problems,
GAO said it could not determine whether as much as 18 percent of the non-payroll
transactions were valid. GAO found weaknesses in internal controls over such
financial transactions. GAO also found problems with the commission’s
maintenance of financial records, enforcement of travel regulations and adherence
to federal regulations. “We believe the commission could enhance the
transparency of its budgetary, financial and operational activities,” GAO
reported. GAO made 39 recommendations.
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