Federal Daily - April 13, 2009

Intelligence Workers Satisfied With Jobs

Employees in the Intelligence Community (IC) were more satisfied with their jobs compared to job satisfaction ratings reported by all federal workers, according to a survey released April 9 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The “2008 IC Employee Climate Survey” was conducted last fall among civilian and military employees in all IC federal components, including ODNI. Results for individual agencies are classified, but Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair wants agency heads to publicize results among their employees and develop improvement plans. According to non-classified parts of the report, 73 percent of IC survey respondents last year said they were satisfied with their jobs, a showing that was relatively unchanged from 2007. The Federal Human Capital Survey, which surveys all federal employees, said 68 percent of all federal workers felt that way in 2008. Sixty-three percent of IC employees said they had confidence in their supervisors and senior leaders, while just 59 percent of all federal workers surveyed felt that way in 2008, ODNI said. The report noted that 85 percent of the IC workers surveyed said they thought their supervisors supported their efforts to balance work vs. family time, compared to 75 percent of federal workers across all agencies. Pay is still an issue, according to the survey, which noted that less than a fifth (19 percent) of IC workers felt they are fairly compensated compared to the private sector. And, just 29 percent of IC workers surveyed felt that pay raises were based on performance, compared to 26 percent of all federal workers surveyed, the report said. To see more, go to: www.dni.gov/press_releases/20090409_release.pdf.

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VA Increases Nursing School Collaborations

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on April 9 announced it was increasing the number of partnerships it sponsors with nursing schools as part of a five-year effort to augment the availability of nurses for staffing VA facilities. With these five new partnerships, the VA Nursing Academy—a virtual five-year pilot program with central VA administration in Washington, D.C.—will grow from 10 to 15 collaborations, VA said in a statement. The VA Nursing Academy enables competitively selected VA-nursing school partnerships to expand the number of nursing faculty, enhance the professional and academic development of nurses and promote innovations in nursing education. The academy also helps expand the pool of available nurses while addressing the nursing-school classroom space crunch, VA said. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported in 2007 that more than 36,000 qualified applicants were turned away from entry-level baccalaureate degree programs in nursing schools because of insufficient numbers of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space and clinical mentors. The five new VA partners are: Western Carolina University, Asheville, N.C., University of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala., University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Pace University, Manhattan and Brooklyn, N.Y., and Waynesburg University, Pittsburgh. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1664.

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Obama Orders Acceleration of GSA Car-Buying Plan

President Obama on April 9 announced that the General Services Administration (GSA) will accelerate its purchase from American auto companies of new fuel-efficient vehicles worth about $285 million. The GSA will purchase 17,600 commercially available fuel-efficient vehicles by the June 1 deadline, including 2,500 hybrid sedans to be ordered by April 15. GSA also will dedicate $15 million to a pilot program for advanced technology vehicles in the GSA fleet. Pilot programs will focus on commercially available compressed natural gas and hybrid buses and all-electric vehicles. These orders will be placed by Sept. 30. Funds will come from the $787 billion stimulus package and all purchases will be made from manufacturers with an existing contract with the GSA—General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. Each vehicle purchased under GSA’s accelerated strategy must have a higher miles-per-gallon rating than the vehicle it replaces, with the overall goal of at least a 10 percent increase in fuel efficiency for the entire batch of vehicles purchased. To see more, go to: www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Accelerated-Purchase-of-17600-New-American-Vehicles-for-Government-Fleet or www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelId=-24825&P=&contentId=26031&contentType=GSA_BASIC.

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