FederalDaily - December 2, 2005

Bush Signs 3.1 Percent Raise

On Nov. 30, President Bush signed into law H.R. 3058, the Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act for 2006. The bill included a 3.1 percent pay raise for civilian federal employees. After the bill was signed, National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley called on the president to issue an executive order to implement the raise. Kelley said the raise cannot be implemented until the president issues an executive order detailing the amount of the raise to be allocated to locality pay. The administration initially sought a raise of 2.3 percent for civilian federal workers, and a 3.1 percent raise for military members.

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Supporting Student Loan Repayments

Partnership for Public Service (PPS) Chief Executive Officer Max Stier recently spoke out in support of the Generating Opportunity by Forgiving Educational Debt for Service Act, which would categorize federal employer student loan repayments tax-free income. Testifying before the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, Stier said two-thirds of college graduates have education loans, and the average debt increased 67 percent since 1993. PPS, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing the federal civil service, believes the bill would help the federal government compete in recruiting young workers—currently education and nonprofit organizations already offer tax-free student loan repayments.

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Better Air Marshal Management Needed

The U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) has undergone a number of changes in recent years, including a 2003 transfer from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau (ICE), and a 2005 transfer from ICE back to TSA. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said the Department of Homeland Security made limited progress in achieving the intended objectives of its transfer of FAMS to ICE. These objectives included (1) developing a “surge” capacity through cross-training ICE agents, and (2) enhancing federal air marshals’ career opportunities. GAO said although DHS recognized that federal air marshals’ career opportunities were limited, it had not developed plans to expand them through investigative or other duties. The full report is at www.gao.gov/new.items/d06203.pdf.

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Congressman Took Defense Contractor Bribes

The Department of Justice announced this week that Rep. Randall “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif., pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and tax evasion including accepting illegal payments by defense contractors. One of the contractors paid off the mortgage for Cunningham’s multi-million dollar home. Other illegal payments by defense contractors included the purchase and maintenance of a yacht, a Rolls Royce, expenses for a graduation party for Cunningham’s daughter, and hotel and travel expenses. Cunningham did not disclose the benefits on his financial disclosure form for the House or on his tax returns. U.S. Attorney Carol Lam stated that Cunningham “enriched himself through his position, and violated the trust of those who put him there.”

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