Federal Daily - July 24, 2008

House Panel Probes Accessibility Complaints at DOT HQ

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is investigating complaints that the new Department of Transportation (DOT) Headquarters does not comply with accessibility requirements for employees and visitors with disabilities. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., notified DOT of the investigation in a July 22 letter to DOT Secretary Mary Peters. Critics charge that the new headquarters, which opened in 2007 near the Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, is unaccommodating to those with disabilities. According to published accounts, DOT staffers were particularly irked by cafeteria tray slides that are too high, preventing employees who use wheelchairs from reaching their food. An e-mail circulated in April by DOT Assistant Secretary for Administration Linda Washington—which offered advice for disabled cafeteria-goers—was deemed unhelpful and insensitive. Waxman’s letter asked for a copy of the Washington e-mail, as well as documents relating to the implementation of any “sensitivity training” instituted in response to the accessibility problems at DOT headquarters. Waxman also wrote letters to the General Services Administration and the developer responsible for the construction of the new headquarters, seeking additional information. To see more, go to: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2108.

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Bipartisan Plan Would Extend VA Homeownership Programs

Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on July 22 introduced bipartisan legislation to extend the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) homeownership program that is due to expire on Sept. 30. The legislation would extend two essential elements of the effort—the VA Adjustable Rate Mortgage program would be reauthorized through 2018, and the Hybrid Adjustable Rate Mortgage program through 2012. Since VA launched the program in 2003, more than 60,000 veteran home loans have been refinanced. The senators noted that the loans were made available at low rates at the same time that other lenders sought to prey on vets by offering sub-prime loans that lacked the built-in protections offered through the VA program. Those protections include interest caps, and fee and cost limitations and prohibitions, the senators said. “It’s more difficult now than ever for people to find affordable financing options to own a home,” said Brown in a statement. “Providing our servicemembers with home financing options is not only an investment in our economy, but an investment in the transition from soldier to civilian.” To see more, go to: http://ensign.senate.gov/media/record.cfm?id=301089&;.

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AFGE Calls for Standardized Pay; Training For TSOs

Citing low employee morale, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) urged the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to replace its pay-for-performance system and to institute consistent TSA officer training. AFGE President John Gage—testifying July 22 at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia—detailed what the union sees as inconsistencies within TSA pay and training. Gage said that despite the call for a federalized, well-trained and well-compensated screener work force, Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) continue to be underpaid, at around $30,000 annually. That’s far less than the amount earned by their counterparts in other federal law enforcement positions, Gage said. TSOs also are subject to a pay-for performance system (PASS) that had been in constant flux due to TSA adjustments, he said. Gage said employees also distrust the PASS system because they believe it is based on favoritism rather than performance, and TSOs continue to be trained and tested on different sets of standards, further complicating job evaluations. “TSOs still have limited access to image test training and trainers have given wrong information about identifying ‘threat’ objects during the test, which directly led to test failure,” said Gage. “Workers need a rational pay system before the attrition rate climbs any higher.” To see more, go to: www.afge.org/index.cfm?page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=875.

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