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FederalDaily - May 16, 2006

GSA Buyout Offers

David Bibb—acting administrator for the General Services Administration (GSA)—issued a memorandum earlier this month confirming approval for early retirement buyout offers to certain employees, spokesperson Bob Conrad confirmed with federaldaily.com last week. According to Conrad, GSA issued offer letters to 700 employees in the Federal Technology Service (FTS) and Global Supply Office. Conrad said that there are 400 offers available, and employees will have until May 26 to accept the offer. In addition, he said that certain employees may be able to accept the early retirement offer and receive a temporary extension to stay on with the agency, depending on the individual’s current assignment. As previously reported, GSA is offering the buyouts to mitigate declining revenues.

Foreign Language Pay Increase for Military

Qualified, eligible military personnel proficient in a foreign language could receive a pay raise effective June 1, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced on May 11. According to DoD, active-duty personnel would see an increase of $300 to $1,000, while National Guard and reserve servicemembers would receive an annual $6,000 bonus offer. The increase—part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2005—will be focused on strategically important languages, such as Chinese Mandarin and Middle Eastern dialects, said Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon. Krenke added that the main goal of the pay increase is to allow the services to identify qualified servicemembers. “This will encourage them to self-identify so we can get a better handle on what we have,” she said.

Expanded Oversight for Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan

U.S. Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan could be subject to additional oversight and accountability with a new amendment attached to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007. The amendment’s sponsor—Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.—said in a press release last week, “Private contractors serve side by side with our troops, and are paid with billions of US taxpayer dollars, so the rules governing their conduct need to be clear, uniform and tough.” Schakowsky estimated that contractors in Iraq alone account for 20,000 personnel and 50 billion taxpayer dollars. Schakowsky’s amendment would include the following:

inspector general reports on contractor overcharges;

background checks for foreign nationals working on U.S. contracts;

prohibit contractors from hiring felons or human rights abusers; and

oversight officers to review all Iraq and Afghanistan contracts.

House Wants Army to Try Six-Month Deployments

The U.S. House approved an amendment that requires the Army to consider using six-month, rather than one-year, deployments, Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., said Thursday. The bill was included in the version of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 passed by the House last week. “We feel that shorter deployments could boost soldier and family morale right away and improve recruitment and retention in the long run, so it is worthy of further consideration,” Tanner said in a prepared statement. The amendment would require the Secretary of the Army to report back to Congress within 90 days of the passage of the law, to discuss benefits and drawbacks of the possible change.

Union Urges House to Approve Federal Pay Change

The U.S. Senate included a provision in its version of the defense supplemental appropriations bill that would pay federal employees the difference between their civil servant and military salary when placed on active duty in the National Guard or reserves. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) wants the House to follow suit, the union said on Friday. Colleen Kelley, NTEU president, noted that many private sector employers have offered continuation of pay and/or benefits to help ease the pay gap for those called into service. “For the 37,000 members of the National Guard who are employed in their civilian jobs by the federal government, no such opportunity is available,” she wrote in a letter to Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.—chairman of the House Appropriations Committee—and Rep. David Obey, D-Wis.—the committee’s ranking member.