FederalDaily - August 30, 2006

Some Military Deserters Still Get Paid

Even though they failed to report for duty, dozens of Army reservists and National Guardsmen remained on the military's payroll and received checks totaling more than $900,000, said a new Government Accountability Office report. Released on Aug. 28, the report identified payments to 75 deserters, focusing on seven assigned to a quartermaster company based in Pennsylvania. The remaining 68 are from across the Army Reserve and National Guard. The reservists were not named. The government continues to pay deserters because unit commanders often fail to file the necessary—and extensive—manual paperwork, or file it incorrectly. About a third of desertion files are returned because they are incomplete, the report said, noting there is no central database that tracks all deserters. “This report details yet another costly injustice perpetrated by the Pentagon’s antiquated, error-prone pay system," said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. To see the report, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d06848r.pdf.

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Internal EPA Memo Warns Against Library Closures

An internal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memo warns that prosecution of polluters may be at risk because of planned closures within the agency’s network of technical libraries. According to an internal EPA memo released Aug. 28 by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), EPA enforcement staff members rely on the libraries to obtain technical information to support pollution prosecutions, and to track the business histories of regulated industries. As part of a budget-cutting measure, EPA plans to close many of its libraries, box up the collections and eliminate or sharply reduce library services. Each year, EPA’s libraries handle more than 134,000 research requests from its own scientific and enforcement staff. Such a closure would complicate finding the correct documentation to support the time-sensitive lawsuits filed by EPA staff, the memo said. It was prepared last week by the enforcement arm of EPA, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance (OECA). To see more, go to: www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=735.

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Governors Offer Advice on Workforce, Base Closures

The National Governors Association (NGA) is offering advice to lawmakers in states facing the economic impact of military base closures and realignments—including ways to support the local military community workforce. The advice came in the shape of a report released on Aug. 28 by the NGA Center for Best Practices. The report aims to help governors and other policymakers address the lingering economic consequences of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Among other things, the report examines the range of public-financing strategies states can use to address the impact of BRAC. To see more, go to: www.nga.org.

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