FederalDaily - February 28, 2007

Clinton Seeks Disability Claims Review for Wounded Soldiers

In the wake of reports that wounded servicemembers are being shortchanged on their benefit awards, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said she will introduce legislation to mandate an independent review of disability claims filed by soldiers wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq. The bill would require DoD to commission an outside, independent review of each individual disability claim to determine whether the claims were evaluated properly and servicemembers received the level of disability compensation they deserve, Clinton said Feb. 26. Her bill also would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a simultaneous review of the disability claims process. A previous DoD audit—of wounded soldiers withdrawn from combat on the basis of medical issues—found that 24 percent of wounded soldiers from May 1, 2005, to April 30, 2006, had underpayment issues, she said. “It is unconscionable that our brave men and women in uniform should have to suffer the indignity of having their disability claims improperly questioned or denied,” said Clinton.. “We owe it to them to make sure they get the care and support they need.” To see more, go to: http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=269700&&

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APWU Applauds Limited Rate Increase

The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) applauded a Feb. 26 Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) recommendation to increase postage for individual first-class letters to only 41 cents, instead of the increase to 42 cents sought by the U.S. Postal Service. The rate increase could be implemented as early as May. While postal rate and fee increases will impact numerous classes of mail to varying degrees, the average rate increase will be 7.6 percent. The rates proposed by the Postal Service equated, on average, to an 8.1 percent increase, the PRC said. Also, the commission echoed the APWU’s assertion that discounts for presorted mail should not exceed the costs that the Postal Service avoids when large mailers engage in “worksharing.” The USPS proposal—rejected by the PRC—would have expanded discounts and shifted the burden of the rate increase on to single-piece mailers, said APWU President William Burrus. “We have denied the large mailers further subsidization of their postage by individual mailers,” he said. To see more, go to: www.apwu.org/news/nsb/2007/nsb04-070226.htm  

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Former Guard Guilty of Smuggling Drugs into Federal Prison

A former federal correctional officer was found guilty by a jury of various federal charges for her part in a scheme to smuggle marijuana and heroin into a federal penitentiary in Kentucky. The jury found that Alice Marie Stapleton, an ex-guard at the Big Sandy Federal Penitentiary, smuggled prohibited items—such as marijuana and heroin—into the prison in exchange for money, U.S. Attorney Amul Thapar said Feb. 24. Correctional officers and their belongings are not subject to search when they report for duty. At one point, the drugs were hidden inside a baby powder bottle, which Stapleton carried into the prison, Thapar said. Stapleton—convicted of conspiracy to provide an inmate with prohibited objects, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with the intent to distribute and attempted introduction of contraband into a federal prison—faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. To see more, go to:
www.usdoj.gov/usao/kye/press/february/stapleton_alice_verdict.html

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