FederalDaily - June 12, 2006

House Subcommittee Limits Military Pay Raise to 2.2%

The House Defense Subcommittee’s new recommendations for Department of Defense spending in 2007 only include funding for a 2.2 percent pay raise for military personnel, contrary to the 2.7 percent pay raise authorized in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. The president’s budget originally requested a 2.2 percent raise, but the full House approved the higher figure in last month’s authorization bill. The subcommittee is calling for $377.6 billion in the defense bill as well as $50 billion in emergency “bridge” funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bridge funding includes $43.4 billion for military personnel and $725 million to provide protective gear for troops. In addition, the subcommittee restored $557 million for the Army Reserve and Army National Guard, which the president’s budget request had reduced.

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Majority Votes in Favor of New FAA Bargaining Rules

The House voted 271-148 in favor of reforming the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) labor negotiation process last Wednesday. However, because the vote took place under a suspension of rules, the bill needed a two-thirds majority—or 279 votes—to pass. Still, aviation unions applauded the overwhelming support for the legislation, which would require the FAA to go to arbitration if a collective bargaining impasse is reached. Under current rules, the FAA can impose its final best offer. John Carr, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), stated, “Yesterday’s vote was a great achievement and represents another step towards the much needed resolution of this issue.” NATCA also expressed hope that the vote would encourage the FAA to resume currently stalled talks for a new bargaining agreement.

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Changes Coming to GSA

At a Coalition for Government Procurement conference on June 5, the new head of the General Services Administration (GSA), Lurita Doan, said, “…we can rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit within GSA and make it an exciting and fun place to serve.” She went on to name her priorities for “the next few days and weeks,” including:

• Making GSA one of the “best places to work in the government.” Doan said, “I will value the contribution of employees, and welcome and reward new ideas. I will aggressively recruit gifted young people into government service.”
• Focusing on best practices in government contracting, and reexamining all processes and procedures and implementing improvements across the board.
• Establishing and relying upon quantitative performance metrics to measure exactly how GSA services stack up: time to contract, costs and compliance.
• Improving GSA’s ability to respond to procurement requirements in emergencies.

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Military Issues Report on Pay Recommendations

The Defense Advisory Committee on Military Compensation (DACMC) last week released its final report, “Completing the Transition to an All-Volunteer Force: Report of the Defense Advisory Committee on Military Compensation,” which can be found at www.dod.mil/prhome/docs/dacmc_finalreport.pdf. The DACMC recommendations focus on improvements to the non-disability retirement system; rewarding performance and supporting longer career profiles; removing variances in pay that relate to attributes such as family size in favor of recognizing each member’s value to the military; simplification of special and incentive pays; reviewing health benefits for retirees; evaluating quality-of-life programs; and reviewing the balance of pay and benefits of the Reserve component. The report’s findings and recommendations will be analyzed as part of the 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation.

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