Federal Daily - June 24, 2009

VA Launches Health Study of Iraq War Vets

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on June 22 announced the launch of a 10-year study to examine a broad array of health issues that could affect vets who served during the hostilities in Iraq. VA’s “National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans” will begin with 30,000 veterans deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. The study then will compare those health outcomes to 30,000 veterans who were not deployed, VA said. The study will include vets who served in each branch of service, representing active duty, Reserve and National Guard members. Women will be over-sampled to make sure they are represented, and will comprise 20 percent of the study, or 12,000 women. The project will use a combination of mail and online surveys, telephone interviews and in-person physical evaluations. VA said the study will compare the deployed and non-deployed veterans in terms of chronic medical conditions, traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder, general health perceptions, and behavioral risk factors, such as smoking and drinking. VA has hired an independent veteran-owned research firm, HMS Technologies Inc., to collect the data. “The study’s findings will help us plan more effectively to provide the best care possible for these deserving veterans,” said Gerald M. Cross, VA’s acting under secretary for health. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1710.

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CBP Opens Online Job Fair, Entry-Level Positions Available

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 22 kicked off a month-long online job fair as part of a long-term recruiting effort to attract intern applicants for a variety of entry-level law-enforcement support positions. The effort is part of a program to recruit, develop and retain prospective employees for CBP’s administrative functions at the General Schedule (GS) 5, 7 and 9 grade levels, CBP said. Most of the positions filled during the recruitment effort have promotion potential to GS 12 level, CBP said. CBP currently is hiring qualified interns for opportunities in two geographic areas: The agency is looking for accountants for its Indianapolis, Ind., offices, and contract specialists, budget analysts, management and program analysts, information technology specialists and human resources specialists, for its Washington, D.C., offices. This round of intern recruiting will end July 22. To see more, go to: www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/06222009.xml.

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Union Says TSA Must Suspend Flawed Skills Testing

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on June 22 urged the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to immediately suspend the Performance Accountability and Standards System (PASS) evaluation program after more than three-quarters of employees who took the test at some locations failed. The unusually high failure rates on the PASS Practical Skills Evaluations (PSE) were a cause for concern, AFGE said. Nationally, more than 50 percent of those taking the PSE for the first time failed, and at some airports, 80 percent of employees failed, AFGE President John Gage said. Gage blamed the high failure rates on insufficient training of the TSA officers who administered the test. AFGE also asked that TSA provide failure rates sorted by airport, that TSA reinstate all employees removed because of the failures, and that the results be cleared from employees’ records so that their pay will not be affected. AFGE also asked House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to conduct an investigation into whether the tests are administered properly, whether the same standards are applied across the country, and whether Transportation Security Officers (TSO) and testers are trained properly. “We agree and understand that TSOs must be capable of performing their job duties,” Gage said, “however, implementing a [questionable] testing program is a disgrace to TSA and the Department of Homeland Security.” To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=1012.

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