Federal Daily - February 5, 2010

D.C. Feds Hunker Down for Another Blizzard

Feds in the Washington, D.C., area will have their eyes on the skies as yet another big winter storm threatens the capital region.

According to a winter storm warning the National Weather Service posted on Feb. 4, Washington-area feds can expect to see anywhere from 16 to 24 inches of snow falling between 6 a.m. EST Friday and 10 p.m. EST Saturday. The weather is expected to deteriorate as the afternoon progresses on Friday, causing a near-certain rush-hour mess.

Federal agencies in the Washington, D.C., area will operate Friday under an unscheduled leave policy, which means employees who cannot report for work may request unscheduled leave for the day. Employees must tell their supervisors if they are taking unscheduled leave.

Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time.

Telework is throwing a new wrinkle into storm events now. Advocates of telework say that major snowfalls can serve as tests of telework policies. When OPM issued its order closing the government for Dec. 21, 2009, it specified that most employees would get paid leave. That's standard. However, this time OPM added that telework employees might have to work, depending on their individual telework agreements.

While most feds in the region could have their work schedule interrupted by the storm, dismissals and delays are of little import to others, such as emergency employees, who have to report to work anyway, and “mission-critical emergency employees,” who have to be ready to report during closures if needed. Other rules, varying by agency, govern the fate of teleworkers who typically report at telework sites.

Also — feds inside the Beltway may have different rules than those just outside the Beltway. According to OPM, facilities outside the Capital Beltway “may prefer to develop their own plans, since they are subject to different weather and traffic conditions.”

In this case, with the size of the storm, that may be less of an issue. But Washington-area feds, whether inside or outside the Beltway, should be able to find answers to any dismissal-related questions in a detailed 13-page guide, “Washington, DC Area Dismissal or Closure Procedures,” issued by OPM in November. The guide is available here.

And for a one-look status report, click here.

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Bill Would Speed Treatments for Vets, Servicemembers

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, on Feb. 2 introduced a bill that would—if signed into law—provide veterans and servicemembers with improved access to new traumatic brain injury treatments not currently available through facilities run by DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The TBI Treatment Act (H.R.4568) would create a five-year pilot program to allow active-duty and veteran TBI patients to receive reimbursable health care from private physicians who are using new, successful therapies to treat TBI. The bill would let physicians provide government-approved TBI treatments to stimulate neurons throughout the brain to regain function, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, flash doses of approved drugs and small devices that operate like brain pacemakers.

The bill would authorize a pay-for-performance plan under which doctors, to get paid, would have to prove that the patients experienced demonstrable improvement. Sessions said treatment and reimbursement safeguards in the bill ensure that patients can get immediate access to innovative private health care treatments while reserving payment only for treatments that work.

“Our soldiers and veterans suffering from TBI need help and hope right now,” said Sessions. “They deserve immediate access to the most effective treatments available, whether through government or private health care.”

The act also requires an annual report to Congress on the results of the program and on how DoD and VA plan to integrate successful methods into their own medical facilities. The process would encourage a flow of new and innovative treatments into military medicine, Sessions said.

To see more, go to: http://sessions.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Newsroom.Press
Releases&ContentRecord_id=95536f2c-19b9-b4b1-
1273-328717b1d493&Region_id=&Issue_id=

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Union Lauds Obama VA Budget Proposal, Advance Health Care Funding

The American Federation of Government Employees applauded President Obama’s proposed 7.3 percent funding increase next year for the Department of Veterans Affairs and provisions that would establish a two-year funding cycle for the VA health care system.

Obama issued his Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal this week, calling for an increase in VA funding to $57 billion, up from $53.1 billion in FY 2010. AFGE noted that, if approved, the budget increase would represent a 20 percent hike in VA funding since FY 2009.

The FY 2011 budget marks the first two-year funding cycle for the VA health care system by requesting an advance appropriation of $50.6 billion. The change comes as the result of a law Obama signed last year which reformed the way Congress provides funds for VA health care. By authorizing a two-year budget cycle, Congress provides a more predictable funding stream for the system and reduces costs, AFGE said.

“Yearly funding delays were driving up costs by requiring the VA to turn to more and more contract care from providers not specializing in veterans’health care needs,”said J. David Cox, AFGE National Secretary Treasurer. “Finally, the VA health care system is on the right track.”

AFGE’s National VA Council represents about 180,000 VA employees.

To see more, go to www.afge.org

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