FederalDaily - July 1, 2005
House Protects Troops from Financial Predators
The House recently passed the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection
Act, H.R. 458, to protect military personnel from those who take advantage
of them financially. The bill:
- creates a registry of banned agents and companies who are
caught selling bad and/or unnecessary financial products and
using predatory sales tactics;
- prevents the sale of contractual fund mutual plans, which
were taken off the civilian markets years ago due to high fees,
that are front-loaded and uncompetitive compared with other
products;
- specifically targets payday lending companies whose clientele
is at least 10 percent military personnel, preventing them
from targeting military members with high-interest loans; and
- prohibits payday lenders from threatening to contact a borrower’s
commanding officer or anyone in the borrower’s chain
of command in an attempt to collect on a loan.
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DOL Gives Grants to BRAC States
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that more than $28 million in National
Emergency Grant funds has been awarded to 35 states, the District of Columbia
and Guam, each of which could be affected by the 2005 Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) recommendations. “The Department of Labor is providing
these grants to help workers, who may be affected by the BRAC recommendations,
gain early access to services in the public work force investment system,” said
DOL Secretary Elaine L. Chao. The grants are to provide assistance for workers
and spouses potentially affected by BRAC 2005 final actions. For a list of
how much each state has been granted, go to www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20051123.htm.
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Reservists, Guardsmen Need Help Readjusting
Jointly administered by the Departments of Defense (DoD), Labor (DOL) and
Veterans Affairs (VA), the transition assistance program (TAP) helps servicemembers
adjust to civilian life after serving in the military. In fiscal year 2004,
about 309,000 servicemembers were released from active duty after serving at
least 180 days and were eligible for TAP, including about 38 percent who were
members of the Reserves and National Guard. But the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) found that few members of the Reserves and National Guard have
time to attend most of TAP. Instead, they participate in an abbreviated version
and generally do not have time for any employment preparation. DoD, DOL, and
VA have taken actions to improve TAP’s content and increase participation
among full-time active duty servicemembers. However, GAO said they continue
to face challenges serving Reserve and National Guard members because of their
rapid demobilization.
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GAO Employees Speak Out
The results of the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) employee
feedback survey are in, and Comptroller General David Walker is pleased with
the results. “The bottom line is that the overall results were very positive
and we improved in every people measure,” he said. Eighty percent of
GAO employees completed the survey. The results are used to determine GAO's
standing in the annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government ranking.
Walker said the 2005 staff development score was 72 percent, up from 70 percent
in 2004. The survey showed employees’ greatest concerns relate to the
agency’s current classification and compensation initiatives, followed
by GAO's performance management system.
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