FederalDaily - March 5, 2007
Bill Would Up Government Share of FEHBP Premiums
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., introduced a bill to increase the government's contribution
toward Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) premiums, saving the average federal worker
about $500 annually. Under the proposal, the government would pay 80 percent of the cost of FEHBP premiums,
up from the current rate of 72 percent. The measure, HR 1256, was introduced by Hoyer and Rep. Frank
Wolf, R-Va. Federal employee unions applauded the effort. The bill “will go a long way toward
addressing the affordability problem faced by federal workers, retirees and their families when choosing
FEHBP plans,” said John Gage, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) president on
March 2. National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen Kelley called it “outrageous” that “a
growing number of federal employees have to decline to participate in FEHBP because they can’t
afford to do so.” The bill’s future is uncertain, in part because the Bush administration
plans to reduce the government’s contribution to health-care premiums for some retirees. To see
more, go to: www.afge.org/index.cfm?fuse=content&contentID=1032 or www.nteu.org
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Chaplain Wins MSPB Discrimination Case
A Jesuit priest should soon be resuming his job as a chaplain at a National Institutes of Health clinic
after the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ruled in his favor, saying he was fired in 2004 because
of religious discrimination and retaliation. MSPB concurred with a decision by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which ruled in favor of the Rev. Henry Heffernan in January. Heffernan
had complained he was wrongly suspended and then fired for his Roman Catholic beliefs from his position
at the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, in Bethesda, Md. A contract chaplain testified to the
EEOC that the priest’s supervisor would joke about priests being pedophiles, and that the supervisor
said he would never hire another Roman Catholic priest. Also at issue were demands from Heffernan’s
supervisor that he minister to non-Catholics under the concept of “multi-faith” chaplaincy,
which Heffernan believed would compromise his faith. To see more, go to: www.katorparks.com/heffernan.htm
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Army Fires Walter Reed Chief
In the wake of disclosures about inadequate treatment of wounded soldiers, the two-star general in
charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been relieved of command. Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman
was fired on March 1 and will be replaced on an interim basis by Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley until a permanent
successor is chosen, said Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey. The Army and DoD launched a series of investigations
after The Washington Post described how injured combat veterans had to endure substandard
living conditions, bureaucratic delays and inadequate benefits to cover serious injuries. Defense Secretary
Robert Gates endorsed Harvey's action. “The care and welfare of our wounded men and women in
uniform demand the highest standard of excellence and commitment that we can muster as a government,” Gates
said. “When this standard is not met, I will insist on swift and direct corrective action and,
where appropriate, accountability up the chain of command.” To see more, go to: www.defenselink.mil/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=10564
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