FederalDaily - September 10, 2007
GAO: DHS Fails to Adequately Manage Its Mission to Protect Nation
Despite the absence of new terrorist attacks, the agency that is tasked with safeguarding the nation—the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—has done an inadequate job of managing its mission during
the past four years, according to a new government report. The Government Accountability Office report
released Sept. 6 was a sharp assessment of DHS’s progress since it was created in the wake of
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. GAO cited 171 expectations and found the department achieved fewer than
half since it formed four years ago. While DHS has made progress in its mission areas, it seriously
lags in management, Comptroller General David Walker told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee. And he noted that the department couldn't take credit for the absence of a terrorist
attack in the United States since 9/11. For example, of the 16 performance expectations for DHS in
the area of immigration enforcement, GAO found DHS has generally achieved only eight. Of those it had
yet to achieve were important elements such as implementing a program for the timely identification
and removal of non-criminal aliens and prioritizing an immigrant worksite enforcement strategy. DHS
disagreed with the report findings. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1081T
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OPM Highlights Veterans’ Workforce Outreach
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is working to ensure that returning servicemembers are able
to join the federal civilian workforce if they choose, the head of OPM’s Veterans' Outreach Program
told lawmakers on Sept. 6. Testifying before a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee, Anita Hanson, an
OPM human capital leadership manager, said the agency is making sure that veterans and returning servicemembers
have full knowledge of federal employment hiring preferences. According to OPM data from November 2006,
approximately 456,000 of the 1.8 million employees of the federal civilian workforce are veterans of
the armed forces. Of these, nearly 50,000 are severely disabled. “We are working diligently to
ensure these men and women know their rights, and know there is an avenue for them to continue serving
their nation should they so choose,” Hanson said. To see more, go to: www.opm.gov/news/opm-testifies-before-congress-on-veterans-preference,1318.aspx
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NTEU Wins Arbitration Decision
In a challenge led by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), an arbitrator has ruled that a
pay-for-performance system implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is illegal because
it has resulted in discrimination against protected groups of agency employees. In its complaint, the
labor union identified discriminatory impacts against groups of employees protected under federal anti-discrimination
statutes, particularly among African-American SEC employees and those ages 40 and older. The arbitrator
found that African-American employees above grade 8 and older employees received significantly fewer
pay increases than would be expected given their representation in the pool of eligible employees.
The arbitrator held that the SEC’s pay-for-performance system violated Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act, as well as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. “This decision should serve
as yet another warning against rushing to implement pay-for-performance systems in the federal workplace,” NTEU
President Colleen Kelley said on Sept. 6. To see more, go to:
www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1151
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