FederalDaily - April 23, 2007
GPO/WEP Repeal Gains Support in House
Another dozen House lawmakers on April 18 signed on as co-sponsors of a measure seeking the elimination
of two Social Security provisions that reduce benefits for some retired federal employees. The 12 legislators
joined 277 other co-sponsors of the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82. The bipartisan measure was
introduced in January by Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and is pending before the House Committee on
Ways and Means. The Government Pension Offset (GPO), in effect since 1983, prevents government retirees
who were first eligible to retire in 1982 and later from collecting both a government annuity and Social
Security benefits based on their spouse’s work. The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduces
the Social Security benefit of a retired or disabled worker who also receives a government annuity
based on their own work. “I don’t think it’s fair to penalize hard-working Americans,” said
Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., one of the new co-sponsors. “These provisions have been in place for
more than 20 years and they need to be repealed.” To see more, go to: www.house.gov/apps/list/press/in09_hill/041807.shtml
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DoD to Grant Additional Post-Deployment Leave
DoD announced April 18 that it will grant additional leave to servicemembers who deploy or mobilize
beyond the established rotation goals, which now stand at one year deployed and two years at home for
active units; and one year mobilized and five years at home for National Guard and Reserve units. The
move comes in the wake of an April 11 announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the Army
is adding three months to the standard year-long tour for all active-duty soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Pentagon offered the following additional leave: one day for each month a servicemember is deployed
over 12 of 36 consecutive months of active duty, or over 12 months of a 72-month period mobilized for
the Guard and Reserve. Servicemembers can earn two days for each month of deployment of more than 18
of 36 consecutive months for active duty, or 18 of 72 months for the Guard and Reserve. Four days for
each month will be provided when thresholds of more than 24 months are exceeded. To see more, go to: www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10760
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Near-Worst DHS Workplace Rankings Should Be Wake-up Call
The abysmal workplace rankings for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should be a wake-up call
for agency officials, said Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
The government rankings were part of a new report released this week by the Partnership for Public
Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. DHS
was ranked near the bottom—29th out of the 30 large federal agencies listed. Looking deeper into
the rankings, DHS was identified as the lowest-ranked agency in eight out of 10 workplace categories,
Kelley said on April 19. DHS employees said the pay was bad, leadership was absent and there was little
sense of a family-friendly culture. Also, six DHS subcomponents—including the Bureau of Customs
and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration—ranked among the 15 lowest-rated
federal subcomponents, Kelley said. “Clearly, this report paints a sorry picture of vitally-important
DHS workplaces around the country,” Kelley said. “DHS gets one wake-up call after another,
and yet seems oblivious to the impact on national security and the success of its vital missions from
a wide range of problems infecting its workplaces.”
To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1084
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