FederalDaily - May 1, 2006

Federal Agencies to Appoint Community Service Liaisons

The president issued an executive order requiring the head of each federal agency to establish a community service liaison within the next 20 days, according to a press release issued by the White House last Thursday. The order requires that liaison’s salary fall at or above a Senior Executive Service salary. The liaison will be in charge of supporting and promoting voluntary community service among federal employees and issuing public awards for exemplary volunteer work. The president’s order also mandates that each agency provide the necessary support staff and resources. Community service liaisons are required to submit annual reports to the U.S.A. Freedom Corps outlining activities related to carrying out the executive order.

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Boosting Political Status of National Guard

With the growing reliance on the National Guard in supporting combat operations, Sens. Kit Bond, R-Mo., and Partick Leahy, D-Vt., have introduced legislation that would give the Guard more stature in policy and budget decisions. According to a press release from Leahy last week, the National Defense Enhancement and National Guard Empowerment Act of 2006 would elevate the chief of the National Guard to the four-star general level and a spot on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The act would also expand the Guard’s budget authority, allowing it to procure equipment unique to its missions. And it would make the deputy commander of the Northern Command—which leads planning for military involvement in federal emergency response efforts—a three-star general. Leahy said, “With this bill, we can ask the Guard to do all that it does, but then say that, yes, it can have a seat at the table during key discussions involving the Guard’s missions and readiness.”

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Proposal to Reduce Phone Rates for Overseas Servicemembers

Sens. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Dan Inouye, D-Hawaii, recently proposed legislation that would offer reduced phone rates for military personnel deployed overseas. According to a press release, the Call Home Act of 2006 would direct the Federal Communications Commission to work with the Departments of Defense and State to reduce phone bills for overseas servicemembers, by waiving government fees, assessments and other additional charges. “This bill will make a small but important difference in the lives of the men and women serving overseas by addressing the high cost of staying in touch with loved ones,” Inouye said. The bill would update legislation from 1992, which reduced rates for troops in certain countries. The Call Home Act would apply to all troops stationed overseas.

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Rumsfeld Criticized for not Staffing Mental Health Task Force

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., wrote a letter on April 26 criticizing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for failing to appoint members to the Defense Mental Health Task Force on time. In the letter, Boxer lamented that the April 7 deadline—imposed by the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act—had passed and Rumsfeld had not yet appointed officials to the task force. Boxer called the failure to act a violation of the law and unacceptable. She added that, now more than ever, such a task force was crucial to addressing the mental health concerns of military veterans. “Just yesterday the Army announced that last year’s suicide rate was the highest since 1993,” Boxer said. “I can think of no more poignant and painful indication that we are falling short in our efforts. These numbers are a call to action that we must answer immediately.”

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