FederalDaily - February 3, 2006

Bill Expands Annuity Forfeiture Rules

The administration told Congress on Wednesday that it supports a bill expanding the list of federal offenses that would bar congressmen and executive branch political appointees from receiving civil service pensions. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Linda Springer said the Federal Pension Forfeiture Act would apply to individuals whose crimes and offenses, such accepting bribes or willfully falsifying information, are committed while in office and for which convictions could lead to a minimum prison term in excess of one year. The bill would apply to all levels of political appointees, in addition to congressional staff. It would permit payment of a spousal benefit if the attorney general determines the spouse cooperated with federal authorities during the criminal investigation and prosecution of the individual.

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USPTO Trains for Telework Program

In December the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new patents hoteling program, which will offer USPTO employees the opportunity to work from home regularly. The USPTO said that this month it will begin training and deploying approximately 40 employees every two weeks. The program incorporates hoteling, by which participants can reserve time in on-campus “shared offices” to conduct certain business such as interviewing applicants and attorneys, receive training, attend meetings and use on-site resources as needed. Priority will be given to applicants who are already in the patent telework program or the patent management telework program. The goal is to have 500 patents employees in the program by September 2006.

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Army Needs Physician Assistants

The Army has a need for an additional 100 physician assistants, and last week it announced recruiting efforts to address the shortage. For the first time, the Army Medical Department will recruit civilian physician assistants. Capt. James Jones, Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) manager, said, “We have a recruiting mission to obtain 20 civilian physician assistants this year, but this is likely to rise to 60.” IPAP provides physician assistant training for qualified servicemembers. This year, the program is training 92 soldiers, compared with the typical 60. Those who complete the program attain a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska and then are commissioned in the Army Medical Specialist Corps as second lieutenants. Those interested in the program can find more information at www.armypa.info.

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NTEU on IRS Employee Cuts

National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen Kelley hosted a conference call last week to discuss the union’s latest issues involving the IRS. She said NTEU is fighting to block customer service cutbacks by IRS management. According to NTEU, the IRS plans to close call sites in Houston, Texas, and Chicago, Ill. by March 3. Kelley estimated that the closures would affect approximately 60 IRS employees. Those who could not be relocated or offered early retirement would be at risk of losing their jobs, she said.

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