FederalDaily - November 21, 2006
Senate Passes Funding Bill for Military Construction, VA
The Senate last week passed a $94.3 billion Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations bill that includes $16.3
billion for military construction and family housing projects and $77.9 billion for the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill (HR 5385) passed by voice vote. The House-passed version of the
legislation would provide slightly more than the Senate’s, but $434 million less than President
Bush requested. A conference on the bill is not expected to occur before December. Also, the Senate
adopted an amendment by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to make $18 million within the bill available for
mental health services at veterans’ readjustment centers. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., applauded
the bill’s passage. “I’m pleased the Senate passed this important funding bill for
new military construction projects and veteran’s programs,” said Brownback. “I hope
the House and Senate can quickly reconcile their respective versions of this bill and send it to the
White House for the president’s signature.” To see more, go to: http://appropriations.senate.gov/releases/record.cfm?id=265886
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Collins, Lieberman Worry Over S.F. Airport Security
Two key senators expressed concern over security measures at San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
in the wake of an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that found private contractors compromised
a covert security test. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee,
and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., ranking member, sent a letter Nov. 16 to Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) Director Kip Hawley expressing their concern. The Department of Homeland Security OIG report
found that TSA guidelines for reporting security incidents lacked clarity and that at least one security
incident was not properly reported to TSA headquarters. Furthermore, TSA and private contractor security
personnel at SFO compromised covert security testing by notifying screening personnel in advance of
testers approaching their checkpoints, the letter said. “We urge you to follow-up on the issues
identified in the report to ensure those problems are not occurring at other airports, whether they
use federal or private screeners,” the letter said. To see the letter, go to:
http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=PressReleases.Detail
&PressRelease_id=1370&Month=11&Year=2006&Affiliation=R
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Groups Says DOI Official Implicated in Underpayments
A public watchdog group said a witness affidavit links Johnnie Burton, director of the minerals management
service at the Department of Interior (DOI), with efforts to prevent a large oil producer from being
billed for drilling fees owed the government. The Project On Government Oversight on Nov. 17 posted
on its Web site the affidavit of former DOI auditor Bobby Maxwell, one of four current and former DOI
auditors who blew the whistle over the agency’s alleged failure to collect drilling fees from
energy giant Kerr-McGee. Maxwell has charged senior DOI officials with failing to pursue $12 million
in oil royalties that Kerr-McGee allegedly underpaid the federal government. Maxwell was fired by DOI
within weeks of his legal case being made public; it is to go to trial in January. The DOI Inspector
General is expected to soon issue a report concerning its review of the agency’s auditing and
enforcement of fees paid for oil and gas leases. Earlier this month, the House Government Reform Committee
announced that the Government Accountability Office also would examine these issues. To see more, go
to: www.pogo.org/p/environment/ea-061101-oil.html
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