FederalDaily - August 22, 2007
Senator Blames Border Backups on Shortage of Officers
Citing long, three-hour delays at international border crossings in Vermont, Sen. Bernie Sanders,
I-Vt., called on Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to visit the state and help address the
problems. Part of the problem, Sanders said in an Aug. 16 statement, is that at major Vermont border
checkpoints some traffic lanes are closed due to a serious shortage of border patrol agents. “The
resulting back-up of vehicles and people has a profound effect on commerce and tourism, in addition
to other economic repercussions,” Sanders said in a letter to Chertoff. Sanders also established
a committee of Vermont state and local officials, law enforcement authorities and business owners to
find answers to the border crossing difficulties To see more, go to: www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=280993
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VA Announces Upgrades to N.Y. Veterans Medical Center
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) last week announced a range of major upgrades to the Canandaigua,
N.Y., VA Medical Center that the agency said will improve delivery of health care to veterans. The
center, which is 30 miles southeast of Rochester, N.Y., will undergo a significant series of renovations
and additions. Planned improvements include construction of a new, single-floor 120-bed nursing home,
a new 50-bed residential rehabilitation facility, and a renovated outpatient building. Designated as
a “Mental Health Center of Excellence,” the facility will focus on suicide prevention,
post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, said VA Secretary Jim Nicholson. Also,
VA has opened its National Suicide Prevention Hot Line at Canandaigua, which will provide round-the-clock
national assistance for veterans. “These new facilities and programs show VA’s commitment
to provide world-class care for veterans using the Canandaigua VA Medical Center,” Nicholson
said. In addition, Nicholson said, VA will explore partnerships with the private sector to generate
revenue and complementary services for veterans by leasing under-used buildings and land at Canandaigua.
To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1369
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Federal Workers in Virgin Islands Get COLA Hike
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced on Aug. 17 that federal workers and U.S. Postal
Service employees in the U.S. Virgin Islands will receive an increase in their cost-of-living allowance
(COLA) effective Sept. 17. The allowance will increase from 23 percent to 25 percent of base pay, OPM
said in a Federal Register notice. Federal employees in the outlying states of Alaska and
Hawaii, and in territories like the U.S. Virgin Islands receive COLAs instead of the annual locality-based
adjustments other federal employees get. OPM conducts COLA surveys once every three years on a rotating
basis. To see more, go to: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/E7-16226.htm
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