Federal Daily - April 22, 2009

NTEU Head Seeks Additional Funding to Add CBP Staff

National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley urged congressional appropriators to increase funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to allow the agency to add up to 4,000 CBP Officers (CBPOs) and Agricultural Specialists at mission critical spots. Kelley testified April 20 at a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 budget for CBP and other components of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to the agency’s most recent resource allocation model (RAM), CBP needs as many as 4,000 additional CBPOs and Agricultural Specialists to keep up with work demands—an increase of between 7 percent and 25 percent—at the nation’s 327 land, air and sea ports of entry, Kelley said. Also, according to the most recent RAM, while CBP has more than 8,200 employees involved in commercial trade operations, the number needed to adequately staff that function is more than 10,000, Kelley said, noting that the 2009 RAM is due June 30. On another matter, Kelley asked lawmakers to renew a prohibition on DHS implementation of any new personnel system that would compromise employee bargaining rights. Such language has been included in previous funding bills and Kelley asked that it be part of the FY 2010 DHS appropriations measure. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1414.

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DFAS to End Private Contract for Retired and Annuitant Pay Functions

Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) officials on April 20 announced that DFAS will soon start using civil servants to perform DoD Retired and Annuitant (R&A) pay functions, ending the work of a private contractor early next year. The move could save the government up to $20 million over the next 10 years, said DFAS Director Terri McKay. Under the Fiscal Year 2008 DoD appropriations bill, DFAS was ordered to consider using DoD civilian employees to perform functions performed by private contractors, giving special consideration to in-sourcing functions that have been performed by DoD civilian employees any time in the past 10 years. A DFAS analysis showed that in-sourcing R&A pay functions was the best solution. “The study showed bringing this work back in-house would provide improved flexibility and reduce risks to operations and would allow us to sustain and potentially improve service delivery and customer satisfaction,” said McKay. Plans call for the transition from the contractor to a government managed and operated R&A function to be effective by early 2010. To see more, go to: www.dfas.mil/news/2009pressreleases/DFASRelease0409001.pdf.

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VA Launches Web Site for Vets of Iraq, Afghanistan

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on April 20 announced the launch of a new “Returning Veterans” Web site that will focus on the specific needs of troops returning home from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Web site will feature videos, veteran stories and a blog where vets can post feedback. The site also will restructure the traditional index-of-benefits format found on other VA pages into question-based, categorized, and easily navigated links by topic. For example, the site’s home page provides links to information on health care eligibility, dental benefits and other programs that may help vets. “We’re opening our doors to them virtually to let them know what they can expect when they step through our doors in reality,” said Gerald M. Cross, VA’s principal deputy Undersecretary for Health. “As the site grows, we will be linking to veterans’ blogs and highlighting more of their own stories from their own views.” To see more, go to: www.oefoif.va.gov.

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