Federal Daily - June 17, 2008
NTEU Seeks Gas Mileage Reimbursement Rate Adjustment
As gas prices continue to rocket past four dollars per gallon, the National Treasury Employees Union
(NTEU) is urging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner to implement a mid-year increase in
the reimbursement rate assessed by government personnel who use a private vehicle for business. That
rate currently is 50 ½ cents per mile, which the union says is inadequate. NTEU President Colleen
Kelley sent a letter last week to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman—the key official with policy
authority to make a mid-year adjustment—outlining her concerns that employees are overburdened
by record-high gas prices. The General Services Administration (GSA) sets the reimbursement rate across
the federal government, but GSA cannot exceed the amount set by the IRS as the maximum rate allowed
as a business deduction. “Given the extraordinary rise in gasoline prices,” Kelley wrote, “I
would request that the IRS make a mid-year adjustment to the mileage reimbursement rate to accurately
reflect the actual cost traveling employees pay.” To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1288.
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VA Health Care Receives High Scores In Internal Study
An internal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) review gives the VA’s health care system top
grades for the promptness and quality of care it delivers to veterans. The report, mandated by Congress
in February, noted that 98 percent of veterans were seen within 30 days of making their appointment
at primary care facilities. VA specialty care facilities reported booking 97 percent of veterans within
30 days of the initial contact, the report said. This facilities “report card" looked at
patient waiting times, staffing level, infection rates, surgical volumes, quality measures, patient
satisfaction, service availability and complexity, accreditation status and patient safety. The data
came from multiple sources across the VA, and the report noted that VA facilities often outscored private-sector
health plans in quality standards generally accepted by the health care industry. However, more needs
to be done to improve care available to women veterans, because these services lag behind their male
counterparts in some quality measurements, the report said. VA has launched an aggressive program to
ensure that women veterans receive quality care, including placement of women advocates in every outpatient
clinic and medical center, the VA said in a June 13 statement. Also, health care will be a major topic
at VA's National Summit on Women Veterans Issues scheduled for June 20-22 in Washington, the VA said.
To see more, go to: www.va.gov/health/docs/Hospital_Quality_Report.pdf.
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NFFE Wins Effort to Represent Forest Service Employees at Allegheny National
Forest
The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) won the right to represent Forest Service employees
at the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania in a recent union election offered to eligible workers. “This
was truly a grassroots effort,” said NFFE Business Representative Gary Johanson, a key organizer
of the workers. “A few employees who had worked in NFFE-represented forests in the past were
instrumental in this victory. They recognized the value of union representation, contacted us,
and worked from the ground up to make this happen.” The new local will be comprised of approximately
105 bargaining unit members, who will be given access to the union’s training offerings and other
benefits. The members of the new local will be governed by the current master agreement between NFFE
and Forest Service employees who work elsewhere in the federal government. For more, go to www.nffe.org.
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