FederalDaily - December 11, 2006

Union Expresses Alarm Over Iraq Report Recommendation

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) expressed alarm over an Iraq Study Group recommendation that federal agencies consider ordering federal civilian employees to fill workforce shortages in Iraq if the jobs can’t be staffed with volunteers. AFGE President John Gage said Dec. 7 that the union was seeking clarification over the study group’s “Recommendation 74,” which said: “In the short term, if not enough civilians volunteer to fill key positions in Iraq, civilian agencies must fill those positions with directed assignments.” Such assignments normally are used by federal agencies when they transfer a job to a different location within the United States. Under those circumstances, the employee is told to move or risk losing the position. The “recommendation as it is written does little more than advocate a ‘draft’ for federal workers,” Gage said. “It's just like getting any ‘person on the street’ and telling him or her that working in Iraq is now a condition of employment.” AFGE represents some 600,000 federal workers nationwide, including some 250,000 civilian defense workers. To see more, go to: www.afge.org.

VA Spending, Disability Benefits Bill Sent To Bush

Congress sent to President Bush a bill that would extend routine Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spending authorizations and increase access to educational benefits for families of servicemembers who were permanently disabled during military service. The bill, HR 6342, cleared the Senate Dec. 7 by unanimous consent after passing the House the previous day. Currently, spouses and dependent children of those in the military do not receive benefits until servicemembers are discharged. The VA provides the benefits for up to 45 months. The benefits are intended to help families in which spouses and children become the main source of income because of a servicemember’s disability. The bill would also extend the funding authority of the VA work-study program until June 30. The work-study program is an increasingly popular benefit that provides veterans with an alternative use of their GI Bill benefits if they choose not to go to college, said Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., during a floor debate on the bill. Programs for homeless veterans—including grants for community care providers and rehabilitation services for homeless veterans who are mentally ill—would also be extended for a year. To see more, go to: http://brown.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=54042

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Dudley Nomination for OMB Post on Hold

The nomination of Susan Dudley to a key regulatory post at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been put on hold after Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said there wasn’t enough time for a hearing as Congress wrapped up work. Collins chairs the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the nomination. The news was applauded by public advocacy group Public Citizen, which had criticized Dudley’s close ties to industry, as well as her advocacy for a laissez-faire approach to regulating corporations. President Bush nominated Dudley to head OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a low-profile but powerful office which can set government-wide policies and work with agencies to draft rules. “The White House should recognize just how wrong Dudley is for such a powerful office,” said J. Robert Shull, Public Citizen’s deputy director for auto safety and regulatory policy. To see more, go to: www.publiccitizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2330

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Waco VA Hospital to Remain Open

Reversing an earlier government recommendation, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will keep open the Waco VA hospital and retain all current services. The hospital was one of seven nationwide recommended for closure in 2003 after a government report said VA hospitals weren't being run efficiently. In 2004, a VA commission proposed moving most of the major programs at Waco to facilities in the Texas cities of Temple and Austin. Before that could happen, VA officials ordered more studies and another panel in 2005 recommended that the Waco hospital's services be expanded. Those recommendations were adopted by VA Secretary Jim Nicholson on Dec. 1. “I have visited Waco and seen firsthand the world-class care we provide to Texas’ veterans,” Nicholson said. “VA’s Waco facility is invaluable to veterans not just in Waco, but throughout the region.” Nicholson also noted the facility’s inpatient and outpatient services are important to residential care homes in the Waco area that care for veterans who do not need to be in an institution full-time. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1257

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