FederalDaily - September 15, 2005
Senate, House Examine Hurricane Recovery Efforts
House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said his committee
planned to begin its oversight of Hurricane Katrina-related issues with a hearing
on Sept. 15 that compares and contrasts emergency plans in other major cities
potentially facing similarly catastrophic events. Davis said this will be the
first in a series of hearings in response to Hurricane Katrina. “It has
become increasingly clear that local, state and federal government agencies
failed to meet the needs of the residents of Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama
. Now it's our job to figure out why, and to make sure we are better prepared
for the future,” Davis said. On the Senate side, on Sept. 14 Susan Collins,
R-Maine, chaired a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee entitled, Recovering From Hurricane Katrina: The Next Phase.
Collins said her committee would look at whether the Federal Emergency Management
Agency should remain in the Department of Homeland Security.
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New Bill Increases Mileage Reimbursement Rate
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced legislation on Sept. 12 that would
benefit federal employees who use their personal vehicles during the course
of their government jobs. The bill, S. 1678, would raise the mileage reimbursement
rate through the end of 2006 for all workers—public and private—to
60 cents per mile. Additionally, the bill specifically requires the General
Services Administration, which sets the reimbursement rate for federal employees,
to set its rate at 60 cents until the end of 2006. “Federal employees
should not have to dip into their own pockets to cover the cost of doing their
jobs and this legislation would alleviate this untenable situation,” said
National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley. The new
bill follows an IRS move to increase the reimbursement rate to 48.5 cents per
mile—up from 40.5 cents. Kelley said this increase was not enough. Companion
legislation to Schumer’s bill is expected to be introduced shortly in
the House by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
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New FEMA Director Named
President Bush has designated R. David Paulison, administrator of the U.S.
Fire Administration, to be the new acting undersecretary of Homeland Security
for Emergency Preparedness and Response and head of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). Paulison is a 30-year veteran of fire and emergency services.
He served as director of the Preparedness Division of the Emergency Preparedness & Response
Directorate/FEMA from 2003 to 2004. He has served as the administrator for
the U.S. Fire Administration since December 2001. In that position, he supports
state and local fire service programs and oversees programs to reduce life
and economic losses due to fire and related emergencies.
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Best Federal Agencies to Work For
According to federal employees, the top 10 federal agencies to work for are:
- Office of Management and Budget
- National Science Foundation
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Government Accountability Office
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- NASA
- General Services Administration
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Department of Energy
- Department of State
These rankings were based on responses to the Office of Personnel Management’s
Federal Human Capital Survey of 150,000 executive branch employees. The rankings
were released on Sept. 14 by the Partnership for Public Service and the Institute
for the Study of Public Policy Implementation at American University 's School
of Public Affairs .
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