FederalDaily - May 11, 2007
AFGE Files Lawsuit Over TSA Breach
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed a class-action lawsuit May 8 against
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) was reckless when it lost sensitive personal data on 100,000 TSA employees. The 15-page lawsuit,
filed by AFGE and four transportation security officers in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia, seeks a court order for TSA to clean up its act. Specifically, it asks the court to order
the TSA (which also was named in the lawsuit) to develop new security procedures consistent with the
2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) and the 1974 Privacy Act. ATSA mandates that the
TSA administrator ensure the adequacy of security measures at airports, and the Privacy Act directs
federal agencies to protect against the unauthorized release of personal records, said AFGE President
John Gage. “TSA’s reckless behavior is clearly in violation of the law,” Gage said. “TSA
must be held liable for this wanton disregard for employee privacy.” The personal information
in question was on a computer hard drive that turned up missing last week from TSA headquarters. To
see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=738
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DoD Launches 1,000-Member Language Corps
The DoD launched a civilian Language Corps which will seek 1,000 volunteers fluent in foreign languages
who would be willing to aid the government in both times of war and peace. DoD announced the three-year
pilot program May 8 and will start recruiting volunteers, said Gail McGinn, deputy under secretary
for plans at DoD. If testing on the demonstration project shows that the program works, it could be
made permanent, officials said. The new Language Corps replaces the old Civilian Linguist Reserve Corps,
McGinn said. Volunteers could be called upon to help in humanitarian crises or could be used to help
out in combat zones, if they so choose. The languages to be included in the pilot have not been chosen.
To see more, go to: www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10845
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VA Forms Advisory Panel to Improve Services
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Jim Nicholson on May 8 announced the formation of a
17-member advisory panel to offer recommendations on ways to improve VA programs for returning combat
veterans. Retired Army Lt. Gen. David Barno, who headed the Afghanistan mission from 2003 until mid-2005,
will chair the panel—which is to meet for the first time next week in Alexandria, Va., Nicholson
said. The panel will also include wounded veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom,
relatives of combat casualties, leaders of major veterans’ organizations and longtime advocates
for veterans, Nicholson said. Biographies for the members were not released by VA. “A number
of panels already have been asking tough questions about our programs for veterans transitioning to
civilian life,” said Nicholson. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1330
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