Federal Daily - March 28, 2008

GAO: Case Study Highlights DoD Reliance on Contractors

Almost half of the contract specialists at the Army’s Contracting Center for Excellence (ACCE) are contractors themselves—and some have been assigned to assist with procurements that their company planned to bid on, said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report, released March 26, looked at ACCE—which was responsible for awarding $1.8 billion in contracts in Fiscal Year 2007—and the extent to which it relies on private contract specialists. GAO concluded that DoD has no requirement that contractors be free of conflicts of interest, but instead relies on individual employees to identify potential conflicts. Also, the report found that the center is at times paying up to almost 27 percent more for its contractor-provided contract specialists than for similarly-graded federal government employees. GAO recommended that DoD issue a guidance regarding personal services contracts, and that the Army develop a ratio for government workers and private contractors. Lawmakers registered their reaction to the report. “Given the government’s increased reliance on outside contractors, we need an immediate overhaul of federal ethics policies to ensure that conflicts of interests don’t impair the impartiality of contractors or their employees,” said Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. To see more, go to: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-360.  

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TSA Rolls Back Some Performance Pay Mandates

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced the agency is easing off some requirements that employees have been subjected to under TSA’s Performance and Accountability Standards System (PASS). In a March 25 email to TSA employees—detailed in a release from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)—TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said the changes to the pay system will become effective April 1. Changes include: improved image tests, fewer competency and proficiency requirements, no more standard operating procedures tests in 2008, and no more sign-in for fitness for duty. AFGE applauded the move. “These changes confirm AFGE’s unease with PASS as an inherently flawed and subjective system that lacks fairness and credibility,” AFGE General Counsel Mark Roth said. “AFGE has publicly challenged TSA and its pay system for years and is glad that TSA is acting on our concerns.” But other issues remain, the union said. AGFE said PASS still lacks numerous features recommended for pay-for-performance systems by both the Government Accountability Office and the Merit Systems Protection Board. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=835.

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FLETC Dedicates Counterterrorism Facility

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) this month dedicated an 88,000-square-foot counterterrorism facility at the FLETC training site in Glynco, Ga. Building 76, a former dormitory, was converted to simulate a federal office building, including an ersatz courthouse, cell block, intake office, detainee processing area and prisoner interview area. The building also includes a faux hotel, motel and restaurant—as well as apartments for crime-scene-investigations and tactical training areas. The training venues are intended to replicate real-world settings and are designed to provide trainees with potential situations in a controlled training environment, FLETC said in a statement. “The events on Sept. 11 changed the way law enforcement trains by requiring new skills to combat terrorism,” said FLETC Director Connie Patrick. “These facilities were specifically built to allow our partner organizations to develop these specialized skills.” To see more, go to: www.fletc.gov/news/press-releases/fletc-dedicates-new-counterterrorism-operations-training-facility.html.

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