Federal Daily - March 24, 2009

Navy to Get New Hospital

A new Navy hospital to replace the current one at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton was approved last week in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, DoD announced. The new multi-story replacement will provide the latest technology, and improve the ability to remain fully operational after an earthquake. The building—expected to be larger than 500,000 square feet—will cost in excess of $500 million. Construction is expected to begin in late 2010, and the facility will be fully operational by 2014. The exact number and types of inpatient beds will be determined after a review of patient needs. The current Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton was completed in 1974. To see more, got to: www.health.mil/Press/Release.aspx?ID=599.

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GSA Announces Per Diem Adjustments in Three States

The General Services Administration (GSA) announced last week that it was going to increase per diem reimbursement rates for two states—Maryland and Idaho—and amend the county boundaries of Columbia, S.C., with per diem changes affecting the redrawn area in that state. The changes are a result of a GSA analysis of lodging rate and meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) data for those states. In Driggs, Idaho Falls, Idaho, for example, the lodging per diem rate will increase from the current $70 to $76, the M&IE will increase from $39 to $44, and the maximum total for lodging, meals and incidentals from $109 to $120. All changes are to be effective for travel after April 1. To see more, go to: www.gsa.gov/graphics/ogp/Bulletin_FTR_09_05.doc.

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Post-9/11 Veteran Unemployment at 7.3% in 2008, DOL Says

The unemployment rate for post-9/11 military veterans was 7.3 percent last year, almost twice the 4.6 percent unemployment rate for all veterans, according to a Department of Labor (DOL) survey released on March 20. The DOL report noted that—as with non-veterans—the jobless rates for veterans vary considerably with age. Veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 had an unemployment rate of 14.1 percent, nearly double the rate of those ages 25 to 34 (7.3 percent), and almost three times the rate for 35- to 44-year-olds (4.9 percent). In general, post-9/11-era veterans’ jobless rates were little different from the rates of non-veterans within the same age group. The report did note that post-9/11 veterans (those who have served since September 2001) were more likely than non-veterans to work in the public sector. Twenty-three percent of men in that group and 30 percent of women were government employees in 2008. Among non-veterans, public-sector employment rates were 11 percent and 18 percent, respectively.  To see more, go to: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/vet.pdf.

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