FederalDaily - April 19, 2006

Government Needs Better Information-Sharing

The federal government does not have consistent practices and policies to guarantee the sharing of critical, terrorism-related information among agencies, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The GAO review found several dozen different designation policies for sensitive—but unclassified—information. Further, most agencies do not have a policy to determine who can designate sensitive information. Under the circumstances, the report warned, there is an increased risk that useful information—particularly in regards to terrorism—that should be shared will instead be restricted. Conversely, sensitive information may be released unnecessarily. “More than half the agencies reported challenges in sharing such information,” GAO said. The report is available at www.gao.gov/new.items/d06385.pdf. For more on this story, see the upcoming April 24, 2006, issue of Federal Employees News Digest. To subscribe, click here.

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Defense Science Board to Evaluate Internet

The Defense Science Board will conduct a summer study on the military implications of Internet search engines, online journals and blogs. “‘Googling’ and ‘blogging’ are making their way into military operations at all levels,” said Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. “But the full implications of this revolution are as yet unknown, and we have no clear direction and defined doctrine.” Krieg said the study would help evaluate the implications of the information network boom. The Defense Science Board was established in 1956 to serve as an independent advisory body to the Department of Defense on scientific and technical matters.

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TSP Matching for “Critical” Army Jobs

An Army pilot program set to run until Sept. 30, 2006, will offer matching Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions to new recruits who fulfill “critical job specialties,” officials announced on April 14. To be eligible, an individual must be a new enlistee with no prior service and join for five or more years on active duty. The Army secretary has authority to designate which positions qualify for the benefit. For those who qualify, the first 5 percent of TSP contributions are matched—dollar for dollar on the first 3 percent, 50 cents on the dollar for the last 2 percent. The Army plans to study using matching incentives on a permanent basis to boost recruiting upon completion of the pilot program.

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Fed Admits to Filing False Tax Return

Michael Henning—a former air traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration—was sentenced to 12 months and one day in jail, as well as one year of supervised release, for filing a false tax return, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said last Friday in a press release. According to evidence presented by the government, Henning—a 43-year-old native of New Hampshire—filed false tax returns in 1998 and 2000 through 2002 and no return at all in 2003. In addition to jail and supervised release, Henning must also help the IRS assess and collect the past due taxes. In his plea, Henning admitted to cheating the government out of approximately $146,000, DOJ said.

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