FederalDaily - January 25, 2007

NARFE: Subsidy Could Have Cut FEHBP Rate Rise

A special $1 billion annual subsidy—available via the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug Act (MPDA)—could have significantly reduced increases in average Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) premiums, according to the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE). According to a recent Government Accountability Office report that examined FEHBP premium costs for the past five years, hikes in FEHBP premiums slowed from 2002 to 2007, but nonetheless continued to rise. NARFE President Margaret Baptiste said the report confirms her association’s contention FEHBP premiums were higher than needed because of the decision of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to forgo a subsidy provided under the MPDA. “We already knew that OPM leaves $1 billion on the table every year they fail to apply for this payment,” Baptiste said. But, she said, “one of the largest FEHBP plans with a high share of elderly enrollees could have been 3.5 (percent) to 4 percent lower in 2006 had the subsidy been used.”  To see more, go to: www.narfe.org.

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ADL Urges Hearings on Religious Coercion in Military

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to hold hearings on coercive proselytizing and religious activity in the military following reports that new anti-intolerance guidelines would be dissolved. The ADL on Jan. 22 expressed concern that the Secretaries of the Air Force and Navy were ordered to rescind their newly adopted anti-intolerance guidelines as part of the Fiscal Year 2007 Department of Defense Authorization bill. If true, the decision would reverse much of the progress made toward ensuring religious forbearance after a climate of intolerance was exposed at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The new guidelines were adopted in August 2005. “Government institutions like the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy bear a special responsibility to avoid religious coercion and to respect the rights of religious minorities guaranteed by the Constitution,” said Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chairman, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, in a joint statement. To see more, go to: www.adl.org/PresRele/RelChStSep_90/4964_90.htm.

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NTEU  Welcomes Bipartisan Pay Parity Proposal

Stung last year by a miniscule pay increase for the federal civilian workforce, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) welcomed a new congressional call for civilian-military pay parity in 2008. President Colleen Kelley said on Jan. 22 that in addition to parity, all federal employees need a fair and adequate pay raise. The Fiscal Year 2007 federal civilian pay raise was the smallest in 18 years and widened the gap between public- and private-sector pay, Kelley said. In a letter to President Bush—from Washington, D.C.-area members of Congress, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.,—the lawmakers pointed out the need for pay parity for members of the armed services and civilian federal workforce in the FY 2008 budget proposal. Bush’s FY 2008 budget is to be unveiled early next month.  To see more, go to: www.nteu.org.

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