FederalDaily - August 2, 2005
Congress Passes Transit Subsidies
In passing the fiscal Transportation Equity Act, Congress has approved additional
funding to allow more federal employees in the Washington, D.C., area to take
public transportation. The bill expands transit subsidies to cover legislative
and judicial branch employees. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Paul Sarbanes,
D-Md., provides eligible federal employees who take public transit a $105-a-month
tax-free subsidy. While some judicial and legislative offices have provided
the subsidy in the past, it has been up to the discretion of individual offices.
The bill also lifts the restriction on federal agencies from operating shuttle
services to and from public transit facilities.
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Rice Announces State Restructuring
Secretary Condoleezza Rice is looking to transform the State Department from
an agency structured to combat the Cold War into one able to meet the demands
of the post Sept. 11, 2001, era. “First, we propose to merge two bureaus
into the new bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation,” said
Rice. “This new bureau will contain a new office to focus exclusively
on the threat posed by terrorists seeking weapons of mass destruction.” By
merging the two bureaus, Rice said additional staff would then be available
to strengthen the agency’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs. There
are also plans to expand the Verification and Compliance Bureau and rename
it the Bureau of Verification, Compliance and Implementation.
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MGS to Run USAJOBS
The Office of Personnel Management has awarded a contract to Monster Government
Solutions (MGS) to maintain the agency’s USAJOBS Wed site. “MGS
has a track record of success, and its management team has committed the expert
resources required to serve the American public’s ever-growing interest
in federal jobs,” said OPM Director Linda M. Springer. USAJOBS is the
primary Web site for government job postings and announcements. The performance-based
contract is valued at $27.1 million if OPM exercises the full base, plus four
option years. The contract calls upon MGS to deliver continuous innovation
through emerging technologies to improve service reliability and the overall
job-search and applications experience for applicants, and to facilitate the
hiring process for federal human resources officials.
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IRS to Keep TACS Open
The decision by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to suspend plans to close
68 of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) around the country is being called
a “huge victory” for American taxpayers, the leader of the union
representing tens of thousands of IRS employees said. President Colleen M.
Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), who has been leading
the fight to keep the TACs open, said the IRS decision “serves well the
very large number of taxpayers who will continue to have available the in-person
assistance of IRS employees” as they seek to meet their tax obligations.
Kelley credited NTEU members and chapters around the nation for saving the
TACs, after hundreds of NTEU members participated in rallies and press conferences
aimed at publicizing the severe impact the loss of a TAC would have on a city,
town or region.
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