Federal Daily - September 9, 2008

TIGTA: IRS Lacks Good Personnel Projections, Tracking

The IRS needs to improve its human capital needs projections, according to a new report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The report looks at how well the IRS is projecting and planning for its future human resource needs. Overall, the IRS hasn’t done so well, said the report, which noted that the agency badly underestimated its Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 needs. The IRS, TIGTA said, has not made substantial progress in developing and implementing an agency-wide process that consistently and accurately projects future staffing needs. For example, according to FY 2007 data, the number of customer service representatives who left the IRS was substantially more than expected. The IRS Workforce Plan projected that 1,170 customer service representatives would leave the IRS during FY 2007. In fact, 1,732 actually left—a difference of 562 (48 percent), the report said. “While we understand that estimates will never be exact, a process to review past inaccuracies and make adjustments could improve future projections and provide more meaningful workforce planning analyses,” the report said. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), said the report underscored the need for the IRS to adopt a much more aggressive strategy in requesting and securing funding to replace its depleted workforce. “The TIGTA report shows the critical importance of accurately projecting attrition and other losses,” Kelley said in a Sept. 5 statement. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1321 or the report at: www.treas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2008reports/200810169fr.html.

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Postal Service Reminds Troops of Absentee Voting Procedures

In advance of the November elections, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and DoD are reminding deployed servicemembers to request their absentee ballots early from election officials, USPS said in a Sept. 5 statement. As in the 2004 and 2006 election cycles, DoD’s Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA) and USPS are working to delivery absentee ballots to members of the armed forces serving abroad. The ballots will be transported via Army/Air Force Post Offices (APOs) and Fleet Post Offices (FPOs). Servicemembers should request their ballots early, and make sure that local election officials have the correct address on file, USPS said. Local election officials typically mail absentee ballots to overseas servicemembers about 45 days before elections and deployed servicemembers can return their ballots free of charge from any APO/FPO, American embassy or consulate. To see more, go to: www.usps.com/news

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Army Observes National Suicide Prevention Week

As part of National Suicide Prevention Week, Sept. 7-13, the Army announced that is it encouraging servicemembers to be more active and take greater responsibility to prevent suicides through increased training, intervention and access to behavioral health resources. The Army is placing special emphasis on front-line leaders to prevent suicide through targeted training programs. The Army’s Suicide Prevention Program is part of a larger effort to change how leaders and servicemember view behavioral health care, which is centered on whole life fitness. “Army leaders are fully aware that repeated deployments have led to increased distress and anxiety for both soldiers and their families,” said Army Secretary Pete Geren. “This stress on the force is validated by recent studies of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans reporting symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression.” In 2007, there were 115 suicides among active Army servicemembers, a 13 percent increase from 102 suicides in 2006. The Army has 62 confirmed suicides reported for 2008, with 31 pending confirmation of cause of death. To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2008/09/04/12133-army-observes-national-suicide-prevention-week--reinforces-theme-of-shoulder-to-shoulder---no-soldier-stands-alone.

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