Federal Daily - April 10, 2009

IRS Fulfills Promise to Hire 1,000 Vets

The IRS hired more than 1,000 veterans last fiscal year, making good on a promise by IRS and Treasury Department officials to hire more vets to fill vacant IRS positions, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced April 7. The IRS also is on track to hire an additional 1,000 veterans in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, which ends Sept. 30, Grassley said in a statement. “The IRS recognized that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have a lot to offer the agency,” Grassley said.  “It’s very good to see a verbal commitment from the IRS commissioner followed through with action. That helps to reverse some public cynicism about government.” Last year, Grassley urged then IRS commissioner-nominee Doug Shulman and then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to hire more newly returned veterans. Shulman promised to do so, and in a March 30 letter wrote Grassley to say the IRS hired 1,203 veterans in FY 2008, and hired 700 more in the first five months of FY 2009. To see more, go to: http://grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=20073.

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Obama Establishes White House Office of Health Reform

President Obama signed an executive order April 8 that establishes the White House Office of Health Reform (OHR) to help oversee the administration’s efforts to make comprehensive changes in the way American health care is delivered. OHR Director Nancy-Ann DeParle, a former Clinton administration official, already has been on the job for a month, having been named to the position in early March. Among other things, the office will coordinate public outreach conducted by the Obama administration, and work with state, local, and community policymakers on the issue, according to the order. And, the office will coordinate efforts with all relevant executive branch agencies, work with Congress to enact health reform legislation, and manage implementation of any eventual policy changes, the order said. The order also directs the Health and Human Service (HHS) secretary to set up an Office of Health Reform that will work closely with the White House office. However, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), Obama's nominee to head HHS, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. “Reforming the health care system is a key goal of my administration,” the order said. “The health care system suffers from serious and pervasive problems; access to health care is constrained by high and rising costs; and the quality of care is not consistent and must be improved.” To see more, go to: www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Establishing-The-White-House-Office-Of-Health-Reform.

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CBP Announces $720 Million Refurbishment Plan for Northern Ports

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on April 8 announced a $720 million plan to modernize land ports of entry in 10 states. The project, part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is designed to upgrade an array of port facilities, some of which were built prior to World War II. Most of the facilities targeted for upgrade are on the northern border. CBP “will use these funds to enhance technology and modernize infrastructure at land ports of entry to improve our capacity for facilitating growing trade and travel,” said acting CBP Commissioner Jayson Ahern. The program provides additional resources for a multiyear modernization strategy that includes a total of 43 CBP-owned land ports of entry. ARRA also provides additional resources for CBP to continue deploying new imaging technologies to inspect cargo and vehicles entering the country. CBP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct site surveys for planning and due diligence beginning in early April. The targeted facilities are in Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Texas, Washington and Vermont. To see more, go to: www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/04082009_6.xml.

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