FederalDaily - August 19, 2005
Smoking Rate High Among Servicemembers
While an estimated 25 percent of Americans smoke, the military's numbers
hover at 34 percent, said Col. Gerald Wayne Talcott with the Air Force Medical
Support Agency in Falls Church , Va. That represents an increase of 4 percent
for the military between 1998 and 2002, the time frame for the most recent
data. According to the same data, 27 percent of the active duty Air Force smokes,
an increase of 1.3 percent between 1998 and 2002. "We do have a higher
prevalence of smoking for our youngest people in the military," Talcott
said. "It's a good suspicion" that the war is a factor in the increase
of military smokers, he added. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is restricted
to discounting tobacco products no more than 5 percent below what they would
cost outside a military installation. This is a change from deeper discounts
that were once offered, officials said.
:: Back to Top ::
Three Charged in False USPS Employment Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged an employment-opportunity
scammer and his three companies with marketing a fraudulent U.S. Postal Service
(USPS) employment program. The program offered consumers help in getting jobs
with USPS and guaranteed them job placement if they were able to get a certain
score on the USPS entrance exam. In reality, jobs, or even the opportunity
to apply for jobs, were not available through the defendants. For many consumers,
the advertised postal jobs were not available in their area at all. The FTC
has filed a complaint and asked the court for consumer redress and to stop
the defendants’ allegedly false and deceptive selling practices. The
FTC charged that the defendants violated the FTC Act by misrepresenting that
they have an affiliation with the USPS and the availability of jobs with the
agency. For more information, go to www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/08/nationaltesting.htm.
:: Back to Top ::
Companies Want Procurement Changes at DoD
The United States Chamber of Commerce, as a part of the Acquisition Reform
Working Group (ARWG), sent detailed recommendations to Capitol Hill calling
for changes to the 2006 Defense Authorization Act that would affect the federal
government procurement process. “We need to make sure that businesses
vying for government contracts can do so without wading through bureaucratic
chaos,” said Chris Braddock, Chamber associate director of procurement
and privatization policy. The ARWG recommendations include stripping a section
in the bill that would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to purchase
products that have a specific percentage of domestic components. The ARWG
is made up of trade associations and companies with a vested interest in federal
procurement.
:: Back to Top ::
Nominations for Navy, Air Force Secretary Positions
The president announced his nominations for secretary of the Navy and secretary
of the Air Force. Bush intends to nominate Donald C. Winter, of Virginia ,
for the Navy position and Michael W. Wynne, of Florida , for the Air Force
position. Winter currently serves as corporate vice president and president
of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. Wynne currently serves as principal deputy
undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics at the
Department of Defense. Winter has been awarded the Secretary of Defense medal
for meritorious civilian service while working for the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency. Wynne received his bachelor's degree from the United States
Military Academy at West Point and served as a captain in the Air Force.
:: Back to Top ::
|
