Federal Daily - February 27, 2008
DHS Awards Contracts for HSPD-12 Smart Cards
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Feb. 25 awarded $180 million in three five-year blanket
purchase agreement (BPA) contracts to BearingPoint, EDS and XTec for Homeland Security Presidential
Directive 12 (HSPD-12) smart ID cards. The three contracts will support the execution of core services
for HSPD-12 implementation and support the issuance of compliant cards for DHS employees and contractors,
the agency said in a statement. Each vendor will provide services and equipment to issue the Personal
Identity Verification cards. DHS is under an Office of Management and Budget deadline to have cards
for 80 percent of its employees by December, and full implementation by December 2010. “Award
of these three contracts is the next major step toward meeting our goal,” said Elaine Duke,
DHS deputy under secretary for management. “We are doing more than issuing ID cards; we are establishing
a common identification credential.” To see more, go to: www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1203977221837.shtm.
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OPM Unveils New RetireEZ Plan for Feds
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Feb. 25 launched its new electronic retirement administration
system—RetireEZ—which it said will more quickly calculate benefits for retirement processing.
The first rollout of the new system will cover approximately 26,000 employees in agencies served by
the General Services Administration’s (GSA) payroll processing center. These agencies include
GSA, OPM, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Railroad Retirement Board. Subsequent
rollouts will cover the remainder of employees in the executive branch, the U.S. Postal Service and
the legislative and judicial branches, with the fifth and final rollout scheduled for February 2009,
OPM said in a statement. “With the efficient electronic transfer of retirement-related documents
to OPM,” said OPM Director Linda Springer, “employees will receive their full annuity from
the start, instead of first being subjected to reduced interim payments due to missing paperwork,” To
see more, go to: www.opm.gov/news/opm-unveils-new-retirement-administration-system-for-26000-federal-employees-in-first-wave-of-rollout,1358.aspx.
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Senators Urge DoD to Extend Deferment for New Moms
A bipartisan group of senators urged DoD to extend the time-off given to new mothers before they are
deployed back into the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. Led by Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Jon
Tester, D-Mont., the group sent a letter Feb. 25 to DoD, asking the military services to review their
policies on post-birth deployment. According to published accounts, some new moms were sent back into
combat within four months of giving birth, the letter said. With the ongoing operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan, female soldiers are being called back to duty more quickly than they previously had, the
senators said. Many new mothers are faced with the tough decision between leaving their new child or
leaving their jobs to take care of them, the senators said. “Given the many challenges that new
mothers face and the importance of that time following birth that is so critical to laying the positive
foundations for a family, the minimum deferment time appears deficient,” the letter said. To
see more, go to: http://tester.senate.gov/News/record.cfm?id=293563.
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