FederalDaily - May 8, 2007
TSA Computer Drive Missing; Contains Records on 100,000 Employees
The agency charged with ensuring the security of U.S. transportation systems announced a possible
security breach involving the loss of a computer hard drive that contained Social Security numbers,
bank data and payroll information for about 100,000 current and former employees. The Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) said May 4 that it realized late last week that the hard drive was missing
from a controlled area at TSA headquarters. The drive contained records of individuals employed by
the agency from January 2002 until August 2005. It is unclear at this point whether the external hard
drive is just misplaced but still within headquarters, or whether it was stolen. However, TSA said
it is treating the incident as a criminal matter and has asked the FBI to investigate. TSA has no evidence
anyone is misusing the personal information. In the meantime, TSA is working out details of a plan
to pay for one year of credit-monitoring services—including unlimited copies of credit reports,
fraud alerts and identity theft insurance—for the affected employees. To see more, go to: www.tsa.gov.
:: Back to Top ::
Lawmaker: VA’s Nicholson Should Resign
Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., is seeking the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary
Jim Nicholson amid reports that he approved a generous package of more than $3.8 million in bonuses
for senior staff within the financially strapped agency. Hare notes this is the same VA management
staff responsible for faulty accounting practices which resulted in a $2 billion shortfall last year,
as well as the processing backlog of 600,000 disability cases. “Our veterans have suffered tremendous
setbacks on Secretary Nicholson’s watch,” Hare said. Also, Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., said
he was introducing legislation to place a hold on this year’s bonuses until the VA reduces the
backlog of veterans waiting for disability benefits. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House
Committee on Veterans Affairs, called the bonuses misguided. “I do not understand how an under-funded
agency has the resources to award a generous bonus package of $3.8 million to its employees at the
same time it asks veterans to wait months for necessary medical care.” To see more go to: http://veterans.house.gov/news/110/05-03-07.shtml
:: Back to Top ::
NTEU Derides OMB Privatization Savings Claims
The latest Office of Management and Budget (OMB) report on the advantages of government privatization
is nothing more than unsupported claims of phantom savings, said National Treasury Employees Union
(NTEU) President Colleen Kelley. To illustrate the point, Kelley points to an OMB claim in the report
of FY 2006 savings of $35 million from an award to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contractor IAP Worldwide,
Inc. Kelley said the report fails to note that IAP has missed several deadlines under the contract,
leaving IRS employees to perform the bulk of the work. “The ludicrous argument that a contractor
who has twice had to postpone assuming its full obligations under the IRS contract has generated multi-million-dollar
savings is all you need to know about OMB’s claims of meaningful taxpayer savings from contracting
out,” Kelley said. Overall, the report claims net savings or cost avoidances of $1.3 billion
over the next five to 10 years from FY 2006 contracting efforts alone. The NTEU disputes the savings
figures, calling them “bogus.” To see more go to:
www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1093
:: Back to Top ::
|
