FederalDaily - January 8, 2007
Senators Offer Bill to Fund Stalled Military Construction
Two senators have introduced a measure that would appropriate money to fund military construction
projects already authorized in the FY 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill, S.113,
is necessary since the FY 2007 military construction appropriations bill was not passed into law, said
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., on Jan. 4. Inhofe and co-sponsor Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., pointed out
that FY 2007 Military Construction and Quality of Life Appropriations Bill was not passed into law
even though it won overwhelming support in both the House and Senate. The existing continuing resolution—which
will fund the federal government for this fiscal year—does not allow the Department of Defense
(DOD) to proceed with more than $17 billion in new construction and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
projects authorized by Congress in the NDAA. “The other appropriations bills can be dealt with
through a continuing resolution, but military construction cannot,” Inhofe said. The stalled
funding “provides the roofs over the heads of our soldiers and their families. It funds the programs
of our supporting infrastructure.” To see more, go to: http://inhofe.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=267200
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NTEU Urges Bush to Increase IRS Staffing
As President Bush prepares his FY 2008 budget proposal, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)
urged him to increase the IRS budget and hire enough additional staff to close a multibillion-dollar
tax gap. The so-called “tax gap”—the difference between taxes owed and those paid—is
estimated at $345 billion annually and growing, NTEU President Colleen Kelley said Jan. 4. IRS annual
reports and other data show that as the number of tax returns has risen, IRS staffing has continued
to decline—from some 114,000 workers in 1995 to 94,000 today. NTEU is supporting a 2 percent
annual net increase in staffing—roughly 1,885 positions per year—over a five-year period
to gradually rebuild the IRS workforce. The loss of IRS personnel has been particularly severe in two
groups key to closing the tax gap, Kelley said. The number of revenue officers and revenue agents has
been cut dramatically, she said. “Drastic reductions in IRS personnel, particularly in the areas
of enforcement, hamper the agency’s ability to seriously address the gap between what is owed
and what is collected,” Kelley said. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org
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OSC Closes Two Hatch Act Complaints
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced the resolution Jan. 4 of two Hatch Act complaints seeking
disciplinary action against a pair of federal employees accused of sending partisan political e-mail
messages while on duty or in the federal workplace. In the first case, the Merit Systems Protection
Board (MSPB) unanimously ruled in OSC’s favor. It held that Robert Wilkinson, an employee of
the Environmental Protection Agency, violated the Hatch Act when he sent a partisan political e-mail
message while on duty. MSPB reversed the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) initial decision and
rejected the ALJ’s finding that Wilkinson’s e-mail was an expression of his personal opinion.
The MSPB remanded the case to the ALJ for a recommendation as to the appropriate penalty—which
could include dismissal. In the second case, OSC announced the settlement of a complaint against Michael
Davis, a former employee of the Social Security Administration in Kansas City, Mo. Under the terms
of the settlement, Davis admitted he violated the Hatch Act’s prohibition against engaging in
partisan political activity while in a government building during official working hours. Davis left
federal employment in 2005. To see more, go to: www.osc.gov
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