Federal Daily - August 13, 2008

Senators Push Gates to Implement Guard Reintegration Effort

A bipartisan group of senators is urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to fully implement the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP), a $65.4 million initiative which offers services to help National Guard members and reservists return to post-deployment civilian life. The group, lead by Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., asked Gates in an Aug. 11 letter to push ahead and plan for the expansion of YRRP from the current 15 state-level programs to include all the states. YRRP establishes paid reintegration events at intervals of 30, 60 and 90 days upon the servicemembers’ return, and also provides counseling and support services for members and their families. The senators said program is especially crucial because—unlike active duty soldiers who live and work with their military units and have ready access to counseling and care—Guard members and reservists are with their units only during their short post-deployment processing window. After this point, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to access the services they need, the senators said. “The Guard is treated like a step-child when they fight abroad, and when they return. It is unacceptable that returning members of the Guard and reserve don’t receive the same care as returning active duty soldiers, even though we are asking them to make the same sacrifices,” said Mikulski.  To see more, go to: http://mikulski.senate.gov/Newsroom/PressReleases/
record.cfm?id=301976.

:: Back to Top ::

New JFTR Broadens Protection for Military Renters

Changes to the Joint Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR) authorize the military to pay to move servicemembers and their families who are forced to vacate rental property because their landlord has defaulted or gone into foreclosure, DoD said. Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, approved the change Aug. 8, DoD said. The change does not apply to military members who own their own homes and default on their loans. Because servicemembers rent their residences at disproportionately high numbers, they haven’t been affected as heavily by the foreclosure crisis facing many communities, DoD said. But anecdotal evidence indicates that a growing number experience the second-hand effects of the crisis when their landlords default and they are forced to quickly find new housing, DoD said. To see more, go to: www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123110335.

:: Back to Top ::

EPA Library Pact Finalized, Facilities to Reopen

Closing a long-running attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to trim back its specialized libraries, the agency and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) finalized a pact to restore the facilities, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). A final Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) dated July 10 resulted from bargaining ordered by the Federal Labor Relations Board (FLRB) in February, when an arbitrator sustained grievances filed by AFGE. The arbitrator found that EPA acted “unilaterally without the benefit of” employee input in reducing access to seven of its 10 regional libraries. The arbitrator ordered EPA to bargain with AFGE on library conditions. The MOA, which became effective Aug. 11, stipulates that EPA will reopen the closed libraries by Oct. 1. EPA also must provide adequate space, trained librarians and equipment to accommodate usage, and an “on-site collection of materials developed and tailored to meet local/regional needs.” The agency also must abide by recommendations from a union-management advisory board which will monitor library operations and the agreement’s implementation. “The public and the current and future public servants within EPA owe AFGE Council 238 a big thank you for a job well done,” said PEER Associate Director Carol Goldberg. “This agreement means that EPA will not be able to put a computer terminal and a bookshelf in a cubicle and call it a library.” To see more, go to: www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1088. 

:: Back to Top ::