FederalDaily - February 21, 2006
Debate over IRS Employment Numbers
The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing last week to examine ways to address the more than $345 billion gap between federal taxes owed and taxes paid. National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley said the IRS budget proposal for fiscal 2007 calls for a cut of $84 million and more than 2,000 positions from taxpayer service and enforcement programs. Kelley said this would hinder the effort to close the tax gap. Nina Olson, the IRS’ National Taxpayer Advocate, also said it is important for the agency to continue hiring both enforcement and customer service employees, and to provide them with the training they need. She said IRS employees should be “in the pipeline” to reach the point where they can perform an increasing number of complex audits, which likely would generate more revenue.
:: Back to Top ::
Dems Call for Higher Military Pay Raise
The 2.2 percent pay raise for military members in 2007 proposed by the Bush administration is inadequate, Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., and nine other Democrats said in a Feb. 16 letter to the Senate Budget Committee. The letter requests a pay raise that takes into account the effect of pay raises on military recruitment and retention. The letter also noted that the Army suffered its biggest recruiting shortfall since 1979—a total of 6,700 recruits. “In recent years, Congress has relied on a formula to increase military pay by 0.5 percent above the Employment Cost Index (ECI),” the letter said. “This year, the administration’s request is only equal to the ECI. Congress must do better.”
:: Back to Top ::
Navy’s Priorities Include Housing
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott outlined the Navy’s legislative priorities before the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee last week. Housing is a top priority, Scott said, adding that there is a backlog of sailors needing adequate housing. Currently 18,300 junior enlisted sailors live aboard navy vessels while at their homeport because of high costs of housing in surrounding communities. The Navy established Homeport Ashore program to reduce the backlog, with pilot programs in Norfolk, Va., and San Diego, Calif., to provide sailors with comfortable housing. Scott also discussed financial readiness options. Though the number of Thrift Savings Plan participants reached 51 percent, Scott asked that Congress address predatory lenders that charge exorbitant interest rates to younger Navy servicemembers.
:: Back to Top ::
Company Settles after Allegations of Defrauding DoD
McKesson Corporation, a wholesale pharmaceutical distributor, has agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle claims that it defrauded the Department of Defense (DoD) from October 1997 to December 2001, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Feb. 16. The settlement resolves allegations that the San Francisco-based corporation defrauded the U.S. by knowingly charging DoD’s medical treatment facilities more for pharmaceutical products than was allowable under its prime contracts. The civil investigation and settlement were handled by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington and DOJ’s Civil Division, with assistance from DoD.
:: Back to Top ::
|
