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FederalDaily - May 31, 2005

New Regs For Specialty Rates and Locality Pay

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently issued interim regulations that amend the rules governing pay for employees covered by the General Schedule. The regulations implement the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004, which made changes relating to special rates, locality rates and retained rates. The new rules apply to any pay on or after May 1, 2005 . A few of the key changes are: locality pay is now considered in rules relating to promotion and transfer pay; a locality rate may not be paid on top of a retained rate; and an employee's entitlement to a special rate is eliminated if the employee is entitled to a higher rate of basic pay, such as a locality rate. For more on this, see the upcoming June 6, 2005 , issue of Federal Employees News Digest. To subscribe, click here.

GAO Probe into BRAC Information

Reps. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., are requesting that the Government Accountability Office—in its review of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission process—ensure that the Department of Defense (DoD) has relied on accurate information before making its recommendations. In a letter to Comptroller General David Walker, the two Senators, whose states contain military bases slated for closure, said DoD’s failure to disclose the information used to make BRAC recommendations obstructs the ability of Congress to undertake a substantive review of the Secretary’s recommendations. “DoD has been on notice of the need to disclose such data since the current base closure round was authorized…and has no excuse for the delay in releasing the data,” the Senators said.

Bill to Keep Women in Combat

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and five other Senators on May 26 introduced legislation to uphold the role of women serving in combat zones as part of the U.S. military. The Senators introduced the resolution after attempts by the House Armed Services Committee to roll back the duties of women in combat zones. Murray said women’s role “is critical both to the success of our missions and meeting retention and recruiting goals.” The new resolution urges the Senate to reject any law, policy or regulation that would roll back the positions and duties available to women in uniform. More than 100,000 women have been deployed in support of America ’s military missions since the September 11 attacks, and approximately 22,000 women are currently serving in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Women currently make up approximately 17 percent of armed forces.

House Approves Funding for Military Quality of Life

On May 26 the House passed the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Fiscal Year 2006 Appropriations Bill by a vote of 425 to 1. The bill provides a total of $85.2 billion to fund medical care for veterans, defense health programs, military construction and military housing. Funding for veterans’ mental health research is doubled, and for the first time, $2.2 billion is specifically appropriated for veterans’ specialty mental health care. The bill also requires a comprehensive study on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, focusing on improving mental health research, care and access to information. The bill also provides $20 billion for the Defense Health Program, an increase of $1.8 billion over the FY 2005 level, which includes $210 million for cancer research.

GAO Investigation into Army Recruiting

Last week Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., offered an amendment to the 2006 Defense Authorization Bill requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress on several aspects of allegedly illegal and improper military recruiting tactics. The amendment passed, as did the bill. Senate action is expected in the next few weeks. “Army recruiters have resorted to appalling tactics in an attempt to boost their numbers of new recruits,” Stark said, adding that recruiters have recently been caught showing teenagers how to create fake high school diplomas and telling them what products to buy to pass a drug test. He said a GAO study would reveal how widespread the problem is. If Stark’s amendment becomes law, GAO has one year from the day President Bush signs the 2006 Defense Authorization bill to present its report to Congress.