FederalDaily - February 26, 2007
Health and Safety Dangers Found at DOI HQ
Workers at the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) aging downtown headquarters building are daily
exposed to health, safety and environmental hazards, according to details from a new internal DOI audit
released by an employees’ organization. The findings come amid rising employee health complaints
during a 10-year project to renovate the 71-year-old building while occupied, said Public Employees
for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which released findings from the audit on Feb.21. PEER said
the audit, conducted last month by DOI’s Bureau of Land Management and a consultant firm, found
ungrounded electrical equipment in wet areas, improper disposal of toxic chemicals and inadequate protection
of drinking water from contamination. “Interior Headquarters is a toxic tinderbox just waiting
for the right ignition source,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. Inspectors found hundreds
of gallons of hazardous materials discarded randomly around the building, PEER said, and the audit
noted there was no system to properly dispose of the hazardous waste, so employees were left to abandon
the items in various mechanical spaces in the building. To see more, go to: www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=827
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Lawmaker Urges OPM to Leverage FEDVIP Success
Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., urged the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to follow up on the successful
rollout of the new Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) and ensure participants
get the best benefits. Davis, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee,
sent a letter Feb. 16 to OPM Director Linda Springer applauding FEDVIP’s first open enrollment
season, which saw 700,000 employees sign up—about 500,000 more than anticipated. In response
to the rush of last-minute enrollees, OPM took the unusual step of holding open the enrollment period
for a few extra days in December. “Based on this unexpected response,” Davis said, “I
encourage you to identify ways that the federal government can leverage this large pool to ensure that
participants are receiving the best dental and vision products and services at the lowest cost to the
participants.” FEDVIP receives no government money and is entirely funded by federal employee
contributions, Davis noted. To see more, go to: http://tomdavis.house.gov/cgi-data/news/files/310.shtml
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Hunter Joins Call for Pardon of Convicted Agents
A respected longtime lawmaker and former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has asked
President Bush to pardon two former Border Patrol agents convicted in a 2005 non-fatal shooting of
a suspected drug smuggler fleeing toward the Mexican border. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., on Feb.
21 called the convictions of ex-Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean a “severe injustice.” The
two were convicted in the shooting of a legal resident alien just north of the border near El Paso.
Ramos was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and Compean received 12 years. “Prison sentences
of 11 and 12 years are not justified by any version of the facts,” Hunter said. “The government
has given a punishment to Ramos and Compean that exceeds the average penalty for murder.” Hunter
urged Bush to act quickly in light of a recent attack on Ramos by other inmates. Hunter, one of a number
of early entrants seeking the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, joins several other lawmakers
who have called for the pardons. To see more, go to: www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/ca52_hunter/BP_HumanEvents_OpEd.shtml
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