Federal Daily - March 4, 2008

Memo: Forest Service Pulls Consolidation Plan

The Forest Service (FS) has shelved a consolidation plan that would have cut jobs and removed agency scientists and land planners from the national forests they manage, said documents released Feb. 28 by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). FS had sought to combine work now done by employees scattered among 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands into centralized service centers, PEER said. However, FS signaled a change of heart in a Feb. 20 memo from Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell to top agency managers. In the memo, Kimbell wrote that the agency-wide reorganization would be postponed to “avoid additional disruption and confusion.” Kimbrell said that “after careful consideration” the service “will not pursue these options at this time.” The plan would have consolidated work performed under the National Environmental Policy Act, the planning law that governs major resource decisions. According to the memo, FS will revisit the proposed reorganization plan “at a later time.” But with little time left in the Bush administration, it is unlikely that the plan will be revisited any time soon, PEER said. “This is welcome news for an organization that has enough problems,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “The Forest Service is currently coping with crippling proposed budget cuts and a radically shifting mission without a survival guide.” To see more, go to: www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1001.

:: Back to Top ::

Army Launches Plan to Improve Contracting

Secretary of the Army Pete Geren on Feb. 29 announced an Army Contracting Campaign Plan (ACCP) to improve the service’s contracting efforts. ACCP will address recommendations of two independent reviews—from the Gansler Commission and the Army Contracting Task Force. The ACCP will continue ongoing efforts to identify and implement needed changes in organization, training, personnel and facilities while coordinating efforts across the Army’s force development process. As part of the effort to restructure its contracting, Geren also recently directed the establishment of the Army Contracting Command (ACC) under the Army Materiel Command (AMC)—and realigned the Army Contracting Agency (ACA) under AMC in order to place the majority of the Army’s contracting resources into one Army command, the Army said in a statement. Specifics on the new ACC command, locations, organization and staffing are still being developed. To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2008/02/29/7680-army-announces-army-contracting-campaign-plan.

:: Back to Top ::

APWU Seeks Probe of Subcontractor Free Parking

American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President William Burrus on Feb. 28 asked the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General to audit the USPS practice of permitting subcontractors to park trucks and store equipment on USPS property free of charge. Burrus noted that USPS admitted there are no national guidelines regarding Highway Contract Route (HCR) employers staging and storing private equipment on postal property. The policy in place, the USPS wrote, is that “HCR employers make their request(s) for available space for staging and storing equipment at a postal facility to the appropriate installation head.” However, this perk obscures the true cost of using private contractors, who otherwise would have to bear the expense of storing their equipment in truck or facility yards, Burrus said. Furthermore, “permitting the staging and storing of private equipment on postal property,” Burrus wrote, “raises a number of issues relative to liability, safety and conformance with contractual terms.” To see more, go to: www.apwu.org/news/webart/2008/webart-0821-ig_mvscontracting-080228.htm.

:: Back to Top ::