FederalDaily.com > DoD Outlines Compromise on NSPS, Issues New Fact Sheet

FederalDaily - January 7, 2008

DoD Outlines Compromise on NSPS, Issues New Fact Sheet

DoD last week released a fact sheet following up on last month’s proposed compromise with critics over just how to implement the department’s controversial pay-for-performance personnel scheme, the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). The agency developed NSPS in 2006 intending to reign in both union rights and the automatic pay raises offered to employees under the General Schedule (GS)—all in the name of becoming more nimble in the post-9/11 environment. But unions fought back, claiming that NSPS might mean higher raises for some employees but no raises at all for others, and would be highly inefficient besides. In December, in the face of continued court challenges over NSPS, DoD ditched its effort to curb employee collective bargaining rights. The Pentagon even compromised on pay in the DoD appropriations bill, proposing that all employees, regardless of rated performance, get at least 60 percent of the automatic government-wide pay increase scheduled under the GS system. Only the remaining 40 percent of congressional allocations for pay increases would be divvied up as raise money under NSPS, reducing the impact of the new system. To date, more than 100,000 of the agency’s 700,000 civilian employees have been transferred out of the GS and into NSPS, with more to come. For details, see the new fact sheet at http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/docs/FactSheet_2008.pdf.

NTEU: CBP Needs More Officers, Must Address El Paso Problems

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) needs more officers to staff international border crossings, especially at the El Paso port of entry, which is clogged each day with long lines, said National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen Kelley. Kelley testified Jan. 3 at a special field hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, which is looking into a range of issues at the nation’s ports—including long wait times for both passengers and commercial goods. Kelley noted that NTEU has called on Congress for an increase of at least 4,000 CBP officers at the nation’s air, land and seaports. She also was sharply critical of CBP El Paso management practices—particularly when it comes to work schedules, which she said have caused employee morale to plummet. Kelley recommended that CBP fill vacancies and increase staffing to the numbers in its own personnel model, as well as reestablish specialization of inspectional functions by dropping the “One Face at the Border” program which combines the jobs of three specialties into a single position. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org.

VA Distributes 2008 Insurance Dividends

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Jan. 3 that it was preparing to distribute $349 million in 2008 in dividend payments for an estimated 1.1 million holders of VA insurance policies. The payments will be sent on the anniversary date of the policies, VA said in a statement. Dividends are paid each year to veterans holding certain government life insurance policies and who served between 1917 and 1956. Sent automatically through different payment plans, the amounts will vary based on the age of the veteran, the type of insurance and the length of time the policy has been in force, VA said. The dividends come from the earnings of trust funds into which veterans have paid insurance premiums over the years and are linked to returns on investments in U.S. government securities. The largest single group of policyholders—made up of World War II veterans holding National Service Life Insurance (V) policies—are expected to receive total payments of $269.6 million. VA noted that it operates one of the nation’s largest life insurance programs, providing more than $1 trillion in coverage to 7.1 million servicemembers, veterans and family members. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1437.

New Members Named to VA Women’s Panel

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Jan. 3 that four new members have been named to its Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, an expert panel that advises the agency on issues and programs affecting women veterans. Established in 1983, the advisory committee makes recommendations for administrative and legislative changes. The committee members are appointed to terms of one to three years. The new committee members are: Rene A. Campos and Barbara Pittman, both from Washington, D.C.; Helena R. Carapellatti, Upper Marlboro, Md; and Rosemarie (Rose) Weber, Springfield, Va. Women veterans are one of the fastest growing segments of the veteran population, VA said in a statement. There are approximately 1.7 million women veterans, comprising 7 percent of the total veteran population and nearly 5 percent of all veterans who use VA health care services. VA estimates that by 2020 women veterans will comprise 10 percent of the veteran population. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/womenvet.