FederalDaily - December 13, 2007

GAO: DoD Underestimates Cost of 2005 BRAC

DoD underestimated the costs associated with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round—and overstated the amount of savings that would be achieved, said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Dec. 11. According to the report, DoD is not properly accounting for personnel costs, and so is generating “a false sense” that all of its reported savings could be used to fund other defense priorities. GAO looked at how well DoD was implementing its plan to execute over 800 BRAC actions, relocate over 123,000 personnel and spend over $31 billion to consolidate forces, achieve savings and reshape its installations. GAO said DoD’s original cost estimates to implement BRAC recommendations have jumped from $21 billion to $31 billion (a 48 percent increase), and net annual recurring savings estimates have decreased from $4.2 billion to $4 billion. The report said DoD also may have overestimated by about 46 percent, or $1.85 billion, annual recurring savings allocated to the cost of military personnel who are to be transferred. GAO said DoD achieves no real savings from those transfers because those personnel will continue to receive salaries and benefits even after they are relocated. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d08159.pdf.

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AFGE Kicks Off Anti-Furlough Campaign

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is urging members to send letters to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking him to forgo plans to furlough 100,000 military civilian employees in February if Congress doesn’t approve the funding the administration wants. The labor union, which represents 200,000 civilian defense employees, kicked off the letter-writing campaign Dec. 11 on its Web site with pre-addressed postcards to Gates that members can download and send. AFGE questioned whether DoD really needs the $178 billion in emergency war funding by mid-December since Congress has already approved $460 billion for Fiscal Year 2008 defense spending. The labor union said the furloughs were unnecessary and was sharply critical of the timing of the intended mid-February layoffs. “This planned announcement comes just in time for the holidays,” the union said in a statement. “It is heartless to treat the thousands of civilian defense employees so callously, many of whom are themselves veterans, and have bravely served this country in previous battles.” To see more, go to: www.afge.org.

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Report: Military Service is Strongest Predictor of Self-Employment

Prior military service significantly increases the likelihood that an individual will be self-employed later in life, said a working paper released Dec. 11 by the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Educational level and household wealth are also strong predictors of self-employment according to paper. Individuals with prior military experience are up to 11 percent more likely to be self-employed, while educational level can increase the likelihood of self-employment by as much as 8.3 percent, the report said. In addition, homeowners are 7 percent more likely to be self-employed. The SBA’s Office of Advocacy is the so-called “small business watchdog” of the federal government, and examines the role and status of small business in the economy. To see more, go to: www.sba.gov/advo.

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