FederalDaily - October 19, 2007
FEEA Announces Winners in New Scholarship Program
The Federal Employee Education and Assistance (FEEA) Fund and the National Treasury
Employees Union (NTEU) this week announced the six winners of the first annual FEEA-NTEU
Scholarship. Established last year for federal employees and their dependents, the
six $5,000 scholarships tap an endowment from NTEU—$726,363 in administrative
funds that remained after payouts from the union’s settlement of a class-action
lawsuit against the federal government over unpaid pay raises dating back to 1983.
Recipients of the merit-based scholarships included a 28-year, full-time IRS employee;
the spouse of a federal employee, and four children of federal employees. The winners
were chosen from among more than 4,000 applicants. FEEA said 481 students nationwide
earned $470,700 in merit-based aid through FEEA scholarships. For more, go to: www.feea.org
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Senate Votes 90-0 to Stop Air Travel Abuse
The Senate unanimously approved a measure on Oct. 16 that would bar federal workers from first class
air travel when they are able to fly at the cheaper coach rate. The measure, attached to the FY 2008
Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill (H.R. 3093/S. 1745), would prohibit any funds to
be used for travel by employees at federal agencies that do not comply with the existing federal regulations
governing air travel. The measure is a reaction to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report
released Oct. 3 that showed federal employees had misspent at least $146 million on business class
or first class airline tickets. GAO examined $230 million worth of premium tickets bought by the federal
government—about 53,000 premium class tickets—from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006.
Many of the tickets violated government rules on premium travel, and GAO estimated that fully 67 percent
of premium class travel was not properly authorized, justified, or both. For example, the State Department
improperly spent $46,000 to fly a family of eight to Europe while a comparable coach class fare was
$12,000, noted bill sponsor Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. “When federal employees travel first class,
they treat taxpayers like second class citizens,” said DeMint. For more, go to: http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=a9e02a38-1321-0e36-bac1-dc39562d652d.
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Military Freight Forwarder Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy
A freight forwarder pleaded guilty Oct. 17 to rigging bids as part of a scheme to defraud a DoD program
for shipping the household goods of military and civilian DoD personnel between the United States and
foreign countries, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Oregon-based Lift Forwarders Inc. pleaded
guilty to participating in a conspiracy to restrain trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act,
and agreed to pay a $140,000 criminal fine, DOJ said. Lift is the eighth company to be charged in the
Department’s investigation into anticompetitive and fraudulent conduct related to the DoD International
Through Government Bill of Lading (ITGBL) program. According to the felony charge, Lift and another
U.S. freight forwarder conspired from May 2000 until September 2001 to file rates with DoD at pre-determined
levels. As part of the scheme, Lift also agreed to allow its co-conspirator to handle the shipments
awarded to Lift by DoD, in exchange for a commission of $1 per hundredweight shipped by its co-conspirator,
DOJ said. For more, go to: www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2007/226872.htm.
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