Federal Daily - November 13, 2008

GPO Releases ‘Plum Book’

The Government Printing Office (GPO) has released the 2008 “Plum Book,” a listing of more than 7,000 federal civil service leadership and support positions in the executive and legislative branches that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment under the new administration. The book is available in a printed version from GPO for $38, or via free download from the GPO Web site at www.gpoaccess.gov. The 2008 Plum Book, officially titled “United States Policy and Supporting Positions,” is published by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The committee noted on Nov. 12 that more than 4,000 of these positions—including more than 1,100 that required Senate confirmation—were noncompetitively filled with political appointees as of Sept. 1, 2008. The committee said the remaining 3,000 slots were filled competitively by senior career civil servants—even though the positions could be filled noncompetitively. Major categories in the book include Executive Schedule and salary-equivalent positions paid at the I through V levels of the Executive Schedule; Senior Executive Service “General” positions and Senior Foreign Service positions; Schedule C positions excepted from the competitive service by the president or by the Office of Personnel Management director, and other positions at the GS-14 and above level excepted by law from competitive civil service. The Plum Book has been published since 1952 as a resource for members of Congress. The House and Senate alternate publishing the book after each presidential election. To see more, go to: www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/about.html.

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NATCA Critical of FAA Consolidation Plan

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) sharply criticized a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plan to consolidate FAA engineering services and move 362 FAA engineers from their current positions. In a Nov. 10 statement, NATCA noted that Congress also has opposed the consolidation plan, which targets engineers at the regional offices in Anchorage, Alaska, at the Burlington/Nashua facility in New England, and in Chicago, Kansas City, New York and Los Angeles. Earlier this year, lawmakers sent a letter to FAA pointing out that the consolidation of engineering services “would compromise the safety of air travel in the regions of the United States served by these offices.” Lawmakers asked FAA to hold off on implementing the Engineering Services Efficiency Plan (ESEP) until they were able to finalize the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881) which was passed by the House but remains stuck in the Senate. If the ESEP is implemented, a large number of engineers will probably leave FAA rather than move, NATCA said. “The engineers currently assigned to the regional offices perform a much-needed function,” said Michael MacDonald, who represents FAA engineers as a NATCA regional vice president. “They understand the nuances of constructability for their specific region.” To see more, go to: www.natca.org/rss/esep-111008.aspx.

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DHS Seeks Training for Acquisition Workforce

Federal Computer Week—The Homeland Security Department wants to immerse its workforce in acquisition regulations so it can understand the details of the rules when dealing with complex contracts, according to a solicitation released Nov. 6. “The courses are to prepare students to independently research the Federal Acquisition Regulation to find answers to complex questions and make informed contractual decisions,” the solicitation states. To read the full story, go to: www.fcw.com/online/news/154316-1.html.

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