FederalDaily - June 7, 2007
GSA Seeks New Background Checks for Workforce
The General Services Administration (GSA) is starting to conduct new background investigations for
existing employees to see if they should be permitted in the buildings where they now work, said the
National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE). The labor union, which is objecting to the new investigations,
said late last month that it has been told the investigations are going to be done in two phases. In
the first phase, a total of 725 employees nationwide, with less than 15 years of seniority, have been
identified as requiring “new” investigations, NFFE said. A list of those employees with
more than 15 years of seniority who will be investigated has yet to be issued, NFFE said. The largest
number of employees in GSA are assigned to the Public Buildings Service, which means that someone currently
employed to maintain a federal government facility may be determined to be someone “not authorized” to
be in the facility, the union said. The agency claims that it must do the background investigations
in order to comply with a recent presidential directive. To see more, go to: www.nffe.org
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New Scam Targets Military Spouses
The American Red Cross (ARC) on May 29 warned the spouses of active-duty servicemembers of a new identify
theft scam targeting military families. The wife of a servicemember told ARC that she received a call
from a woman who identified herself as an ARC representative. The caller stated that the spouse’s
husband (not identified by name) was hurt while on duty in Iraq and was evacuated to a hospital in
Germany, ARC said. The caller stated they couldn’t start treatment until paperwork was accomplished,
and asked for the husband’s Social Security number and date of birth. In this case, the spouse
was quick to catch on, and she hung up without providing any information to the caller. ARC said its
representatives typically do not contact military members/dependents directly and almost always go
through military officials. ARC urged military family members to be cautious in giving out any personal
information over the phone. To see more, go to: www.redcross.org/pressrelease/0,1077,0_314_6732,00.html
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VA to Establish Nursing Academy
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched plans for a new multi-campus VA Nursing Academy to
expand the pool of trained nurses and reduce a nationwide nursing shortage, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson
said June 4. The five-year, $40 million pilot program will establish partnerships with 12 existing
nursing schools across the country during the next three years, beginning with four in the upcoming
2007-2008 academic year. The program is designed to expand the capacity of the schools and will be
headquartered in Washington, D.C. Despite a nationwide shortage of nurses, the American Association
of Colleges of Nursing has reported that more than 42,000 qualified applicants were turned away from
nursing schools in the last year because of insufficient numbers of faculty, clinical sites, classroom
space and clinical mentors. “Our new pilot VA Nursing Academy holds great promise for the future
of our healthcare professionals and, most importantly, our patients,” said Nicholson. To see
more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1342
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