FederalDaily - August 29, 2007
AFGE Says Gonzales Resignation Important First Step
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) called the resignation of Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales an important move toward restoring credibility to the Department of Justice (DOJ),
which has been battered by controversy for months. Gonzales’ resignation was “inevitable” and
he was “not the right man for the job,” AFGE President John Gage said in an Aug. 27 statement. “He
lacked proper judgment, and his outright refusal to be honest and upstanding was a disservice to the
DOJ,” Gage said. “His prior refusal to step down was an embarrassment to the federal government,
a detriment to the work of DOJ employees and put the agency in poor standing with the American public.” Gage
was quick to acknowledge the service of both former Deputy Attorney General James Comey and FBI Director
Robert Mueller, who had long been at odds with some of Gonzales’ efforts. AFGE represents more
than 20,000 employees at DOJ. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=783
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GSA Emergency Chief Says Agency Better Prepared
The General Services Administration (GSA) is now better prepared to handle a natural disaster of national
proportions with the expansion of the agency’s emergency response office, the GSA’s chief
preparedness officer told a conference in New Orleans. GSA Chief Emergency Response and Recovery Officer
Richard Reed spoke at the Gulf Coast Reconstruction and Preparedness Summit on Aug. 28. Reed said the
emergency response office has been expanded and operations streamlined to provide aid quicker in response
to a natural disaster. Much post-Katrina criticism centered on the federal government’s inadequate
and slow response to the damage caused by the 2005 hurricanes. “As the federal government’s
premier acquisition agency, we recognize that after a disaster, GSA can make a huge difference in how
quickly a community recovers,” Reed said. Another improvement involves GSA’s new disaster
recovery purchasing program for state and local governments, which allows state, local and tribal agencies
to directly access GSA Schedules. To see more, go to: www.gsa.gov.
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FEMA Launches Pilot Public Warning System
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Sandia National Laboratories on Aug. 28 announced
the launch of a pilot program to test a next-generation public alert and warning system that will broadcast
over a wide range of communication devices. The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)
pilot program, administered by FEMA, will offer warnings to a limited number of states and local jurisdictions
along the Gulf Coast, FEMA and Sandia said in a statement. The new IPAWS system will include the deployment
of an enhanced Web Alert and Relay Network (WARN) that, among other things, will allow citizens to
sign up to receive alert messages via pagers, cell phones, email and other communications devices.
To see more, go to: www.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2007/ipaws.html
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