Federal Daily - June 17, 2009

GAO: Half of CBP FY 2009 Personnel Budget Estimates Unreliable

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that could not determine the reliability of about half of the cost items the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used in building its Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget estimate of $351.2 million for additional agents. In a June 15 report, GAO said that of 28 cost items, 12—which accounted for 43 percent ($152 million) of CBP’s budget estimate for recruiting, hiring and deploying an additional 2,200 Border Patrol agents—were not reliable. Of those 12, GAO could not replicate the CBP estimates for four of the cost items, CBP could not provide documentation for five other cost items, and CBP did not use relevant cost data for three cost items. CBP is in the midst of a massive hiring surge, having increased the number of Border Patrol agents from about 12,300 in September 2006 to 18,875 in April 2009—an unprecedented 53 percent hike. And the Border Patrol plans to add additional agents during the remaining months of FY 2009, increasing its onboard strength to about 19,700 agents by Sept. 30. To provide support for the budget estimates, CBP must provide accurate estimates for what it costs in recruiting, hiring, training, equipping and deploying a new Border Patrol agent, GAO said—and better internal controls would help. For example, CBP did not provide detailed guidance or directives to agency components on who is responsible for developing the various cost items, how the cost item estimates are to be calculated and what documentation requirements should be applied to ensure consistency. “With such guidance, CBP could strengthen its position to help ensure that management’s directives for the [budget] development process are carried out as intended and consistently result in a reliable cost estimate,” the report said. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d09542r.pdf.

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IFPTE Voices Support for Measure to Further Dismantle NSPS

The International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers (IFPTE) applauded an amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 defense authorization bill requiring DoD to return employees covered under the National Security Personnel System to the General Schedule (GS) within a year. In a June 15 letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., IFPTE President Gregory J. Junemann, said the union supported an amendment slated to be offered by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., at a markup of the authorization bill by the committee on June 16. Under the bill, NSPS employees would be returned to the GS pay system unless DoD could show that significant progress has been made to correct deficiencies within the pay-for-performance program. Union leaders have claimed that it is not transparent and is unfair. The amendment also would restore full nationwide adjustment to those federal employees working under NSPS, prohibit new hires to be put into NSPS and prevent any reclassification of positions to NSPS as of June 16. Junemann noted that although DoD has suspended conversion of current DoD employees from GS into NSPS, it is continuing to place new employees into the pay-for-performance system. NSPS is currently under review by the Defense Business Board’s NSPS Task Force, which is due to release a report this September. To see more, go to: www.ifpte.org/Downloads/Archives/Letters/2009/Shea
PorterAmendmentFY10HouseAuth.pdf.   

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AHLTA to Include Dental Records

Servicemembers’ dental records will soon be integrated into AHLTA (Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application), the military’s electronic health record, Military Health System (MHS) officials said last week. AHLTA-Dental consolidates Tri-Service Dental Records into a single electronic database, creating worldwide access to a servicemember’s integrated medical history, MHS said. About 377 dental clinics will train and implement AHLTA-Dental by the end of calendar year 2010, starting in the mid-Atlantic region. The Defense Health Information Management System’s Deployment Operations team is working with the service representatives to ensure all military treatment facilities are prepared for launch at each site. “AHLTA-Dental improves the sharing of patient information, allowing clinicians easy access to patient information anytime,” said Charles Campbell, MHS chief information officer. To see more, go to: www.health.mil/Press/Release.aspx?ID=762.

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AFGE: Miami ICE Detention Facility Reports Confirmed H1N1 Cases

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Krome Service Processing Center in Miami reports that it has confirmed cases of H1N1 flu, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) said in a June 15 statement. AFGE said members were briefed June 14 on the spread of H1N1, or swine influenza virus, through the facility. Last week, ICE reported that of the 542 Krome detainees, 14 had flu-like symptoms, as did one contract employee, according to published accounts. The AFGE statement was the first to note that ICE had confirmed flu instances at the facility. It is unknown how many cases that ICE has confirmed. AFGE was critical of the government’s response to the flu cases. ICE permitted Krome employees to be fitted with protective gear only after H1N1 was confirmed, said Pat Remigio, president of AFGE National Council 118-ICE, which represents personnel at the facility. “We have been asking the agency for weeks for training, support and protective equipment—any information at all—on H1N1 and ICE has been completely unresponsive. Only now when one of our facilities has an actual outbreak, do we get action from the agency,” said Remigio. “It doesn’t make any sense.” To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=1001.

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