Federal Daily - January 16, 2009
Thompson Seeks Review of New TSA Uniforms
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to look into reports that new uniforms issued to Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) are linked to a spate of health issues, including skin rashes and nausea. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the TSO complaints could be the result of possible exposure to formaldehyde and other irritants in the uniforms. The new uniforms, along with badges, are a TSA attempt to boost employee morale amid one of the highest turnover rates in government. In a letter to TSA Administrator Kip Hawley, Thompson asked whether steps had been taken to adequately test the material used in the uniforms. Thompson also sought an explanation of why TSA has been giving affected employees information on filing workers’ compensation claims, rather than providing them with administrative leave for medical appointments and possible treatment. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1363 or the letter at http://dhsunion.org/Documents/TSAUniforms.pdf.
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Younger Job Seekers Looking First to Government
Young job seekers identified government service as their top preference out of college, according to a poll of 43,000 undergraduates by the Partnership for Public Service and Universum USA. Among students surveyed, “government/public service” is the most popular industry choice out of 46 options, according to the poll released on Jan. 14. About 17 percent of undergraduates selected the government/public service industry as one in which they would “ideally want to work when choosing their first employment after graduation.” Federal agency recruiters can take advantage of this positive outlook by branding their agencies so that those students understand what they do and what they offer, the report said. They should also adjust their strategic and tactical recruiting plans to meet students’ preferences and meet students online and on campus (including at career fairs) to provide them with the information and meaningful human contact they seek, the report said. "With the slumping economy, a lot of job seekers are giving our federal government a second look. This poll suggests young applicants will like what they see,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. “The conditions are right for federal agencies to bring in top talent. The question is, ‘will they take advantage of this opportunity or let it pass?’”
To see more, go to: www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/pressroom/release_
090114_GreatExpectations.shtml or www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/publications/viewcontent
details.php?id=131.
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Senate Likely to Consider OMB Nominees Next Week
Peter Orszag, President-elect Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Robert Nabors, OMB deputy director nominee, probably will have their nominations considered by the full Senate next week, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Jan. 14. Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said that it would be more expedient to have the full Senate vote directly on the two men, probably sometime right after President-elect Obama’s inauguration. During testimony before Lieberman’s committee this week “These nominations come at a time of unprecedented budgetary and economic peril for the nation, which means challenges beyond the normal for OMB and those who will lead it,” Lieberman said. Both nominees can be considered Washington insiders: Orszag, 39, an economist, is past director of the Congressional Budget Office; Nabors was the staff director of the House Appropriations Committee and served at OMB during the Clinton administration. To see more, go to: http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=PressReleases.Detail
&PressRelease_id=55ed43bc-03c5-4edd-af2f-fed2778052c7&Month=1&
Year=2009&Affiliation=C.
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