FederalDaily - July 16, 2007
Grassley Warns All NIH Components Not To Intimidate Whistleblowers
Managers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) may have intimidated some
employees into not testifying before Congress about problems inside the organization, Sen. Chuck Grassley,
R-Iowa, said July 12. Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to
Dr. Elias Zerhouni—the director of the NIEHS parent agency, the National Institutes of Health
(NIH)—asking him to ensure that employees throughout the agency know they are free to testify.
The NIH is in the middle of imposing new ethics standards after a review found that NIEHS Director
Dr. David Schwartz violated federal travel policies, used staff and federal funds for personal purposes
and violated NIH ethical standards. “NIH employees, like employees at any other government agency,
have the right to talk to Congress,” Grassley’s letter said. “If NIH employees have
concerns to share, it is not anyone's place to forbid them from doing so.” To see more, go to: http://finance.senate.gov
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VA Announces $24 Million In Grants For Homeless
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on July 11 announced the distribution of $24 million to 92
community organizations that have been charged with helping homeless veterans find transitional housing.
The VA said 53 of the organizations will receive $10 million to provide about 1,000 transitional housing
beds under VA’s per diem program, while another 36 will receive $12 million for programs for
homeless veterans who are frail and elderly, or are mentally or terminally ill. Finally, three
organizations will receive about $2 million for various technical assistance projects. VA Secretary
Jim Nicholson points out that the grants are part of VA’s continuing efforts to reduce homelessness
among veterans. The agency has the largest integrated network of homeless-assistance programs in the
country. “Only through a dedicated partnership with community and faith-based organizations can
we hope to reduce homelessness among veterans,” said Nicholson. "These partnerships provide
safe, comfortable housing in caring communities for veterans who need a helping hand." To see
more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1356
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Managers Charge SSA Budget Proposal Won’t Pay For Replacement Staff
An association representing federal workforce managers said the proposed FY 2008 congressional funding
for the Social Security Administration (SSA) was insufficient. The Federal Managers Association (FMA)
charged in a July 11 statement that the current proposal would only permit the replacement of a quarter
of SSA employees lost over the past three years—and that it would do nothing in reducing the
745,000-case backlog for hearings now pending in the SSA Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.
House and Senate appropriators fell far short of the $10.1 billion for SSA salaries and expenses for
FY 2008 that were initially promised by lawmakers in the non-binding Budget Resolution passed early
this year. President Bush, in his FY 2008 budget request, did no better, proposing just $9.597 billion
for the SSA. Without additional new funding, the SSA will be able to replace only about 1,000 of the
4,000 employees who have left the agency over the past three years, FMA said. “We at FMA believe
that the $10.1 billion in funding agreed to in the budget resolution will allow the agency to fulfill
its mission in serving the American people,” said FMA National President Darryl Perkinson. To
see more, go to: www.fedmanagers.org/public/announcement.cfm?id=172
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