FederalDaily - December 1, 2005
Defense Releases NSPS Proposals
On Nov. 23 the Department of Defense (DoD) posted draft implementing issuances
for the human resources portion of the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).
These draft issuances provide details for carrying out provisions included
in the NSPS regulations and, according to DoD, are “subject to the continuing
collaboration process with representatives of DoD employees.” This process
will start on Dec. 1. DoD said the unions will have the opportunity to submit
written comments and discuss their views. The issuances, which cover the topics
listed below, can be found at www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/issuances.html.
- conversion into NSPS
- classification
- compensation
- performance management
- staffing and employment
- work force shaping
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Public Sector Job Loss
This calendar year the number of job cuts in the government and nonprofit
sector is up almost 10 percent from this time one year ago, according to Challenger,
Gray and Christmas Inc.’s annual Job-Cut Announcement Report. Total job
cuts for government and nonprofit employers for October 2005 reached 72,181
compared to 65,519 in October 2004. Of most notable impact to the federal government
is a surge in cutbacks in the aerospace/defense field, where, despite the war
on terrorism, job cuts are nearly 300 percent higher than this point last year—2005’s
figure through October stands at 28,125 versus 7,074 last year.
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DoD Business Systems Modernization Assessment
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released the latest in a series
of reports studying the effectiveness of Department of Defense (DoD) business
systems modernization efforts. The Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year
2005 included provisions aimed at guaranteeing that DoD developed a transition
plan and processes to manage business and information technology investments
by Sept. 30, 2005. GAO said gains were made in satisfying the requirements
for monitoring business investments, but not all required processes were in
place and certain review and approval requirements had not occurred. DoD agreed
with the need to improve its efforts and address GAO’s concerns. The
full report can be found at: www.gao.gov/highlights/d06219high.pdf.
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FEEA Helps Feds Hit by Hurricanes
The Federal Employees Education and Assistance (FEEA) Fund announced that
it has provided $1.135 million in grants to federal employees in Florida, Louisiana,
Mississippi and other states affected by the hurricane season. FEEA has collected
more than $800,000 due in part to a $100,000 contribution by the BlueCross
BlueShield Association and donations from the National Treasury Employees Union,
NASA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor and other
federal agencies. With more applications for assistance being submitted, FEEA
estimates that it will need to raise an additional $650,000. For more information
on FEEA and ways to contribute, go to www.feea.org.
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