FederalDaily.com > 2007 CSRS Boost is 3.3 Percent

FederalDaily - October 19, 2006

2007 CSRS Boost is 3.3 Percent

Civil Service Retirement System retirees will get a 3.3 percent increase in retirement benefits for 2007, the government announced Oct. 18. Last year, the increase was 4.1 percent. Feds with military and foreign service annuities also get the 3.3 percent hike. Eligible retirees in the Federal Employees Retirement System will get a 2.3 percent increase. Social Security retirement payments will increase 3.3 percent, as well.

Capitol Tunnel Workers File Whistleblower Complaint

Ten workers who service the utility tunnels beneath the U.S. Capitol complex filed a whistleblower complaint against their employer, the Architect of the Capitol (AoC). The Oct. 18 complaint alleges that the workers—all federal employees—were subjected to retaliation and a resulting hostile work environment after they exposed dangerous working conditions and environmental hazards. The workers, represented by the Government Accountability Project (GAP), are “Tunnel Shop” employees whose job it is to maintain the plumbing systems that provide steam and chilled water to Congress, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court and other federal buildings. They went public with their complaints of an unsafe working environment—which included falling slabs of concrete, the absence of emergency communications and the lack of emergency exits—after years of complaints to AoC went unheeded, GAP said.
Following the disclosures, the workers claim that AoC managers began a campaign of retaliation against them, including: harassment for seeking independent medical examinations and the denial of hazard pay. To see more, go to: www.whistleblower.org/content/press_detail.cfm?press_id=630&keyword=

Group Questions Integrity of DOI Plan

A public employee union is questioning whether a new Department of Interior (DOI) five-year strategic plan will really let government scientists analyze scientific data free from political manipulation. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said on Oct. 17 that although the DOI plan emphasizes scientific integrity, the agency allegedly promotes managers known for manipulating technical data and findings for political reasons. The principal official behind the DOI plan is Paul Hoffman, who did comparable work overseeing planning at the National Park and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, PEER said. In that previous slot, Hoffman ordered scientific documents to be rewritten, PEER said. For example, Hoffman ordered all references to evolution (such as, “species are evolving,” “naturally evolving ecosystems” and “natural evolutionary processes”) to be struck from the management policies, PEER said. A national survey conducted last year by PEER and the Union of Concerned Scientists showed high percentages of Fish & Wildlife Service scientists citing frequent political intervention in their work. To see more, go to www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=769

Former FDA Commissioner Pleads Guilty

Lester Crawford, a former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pleaded guilty to two federal criminal charges—violating conflict of interest laws and making false financial disclosures—both misdemeanors. He could face up to a year in jail on each charge. Crawford entered his guilty plea to the two charges Oct. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Crawford, 68, admitted to filing a number of disclosure forms and other financial documents in which he did not declare his and his wife’s ownership of certain stocks and stock options. Specifically, on Feb. 25, 2005. Crawford failed to disclose in his Senate nominee statement his income from the exercise of Embrex stock options in October 2003 and November 2004. Crawford also failed to disclose ownership of Sysco and Pepsico stock while leading the FDA’s Obesity Working Group in 2004. Crawford is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 22. To see more, go to: www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/Press_Releases/2006_Archives/Oct_2006/06378.html