Federal Daily - April 17, 2009

House Points to Public Service for New Grads

A statement from the House Education and Labor Committee notes out that civil service may be more attractive to younger workers today in light of the fact that 60 percent of the 1.2 million jobs lost last year were held by workers under the age of 25. The committee said that new college grads—who face the worst job market in years—may find relief in two new laws that encourage public service and help reduce student loan debt. The first—the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, signed into law in 2007—offers complete loan forgiveness after 10 years of service to a range of public servants, including military servicemembers, first responders, law enforcement officers, firefighters, nurses and educators. The second—which may be signed into law next week by President Obama—is the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which will expand national service and volunteer opportunities. Among other things, the bill will more than triple the current number of volunteers— from 75,000 to 250,000—in key areas like education, clean energy, health care and assistance for veterans. And, for AmeriCorps participants, the bill also will increase the education funds they receive from $4,725 to $5,350 for next year, the same as the maximum Pell Grant scholarship award, according to the committee statement. To see more, go to: http://edlabor.house.gov/who-benefits-from-the-college-cost-reduction-and-access-act/index.shtml.

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TRICARE Increases Payments for Special Needs Beneficiaries

TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) on April 15 announced it had increased the amount it will pay for certain Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) benefits for eligible beneficiaries who are suffering from physical or mental disabilities or other special needs. ECHO assists eligible family members of active duty military who are diagnosed with moderate or severe mental retardation, a serious physical disability or an extraordinary physical or psychological condition, TMA said. The total TRICARE cost share for training, rehabilitation, special education, and assistive technology devices increased to $36,000 per fiscal year. Previously, all ECHO benefits were subject to a government cost-share limit of $2,500 per month ($30,000 per year). TMA notes that some ECHO benefits are still subject to the $2,500 per month cap and ECHO Home Health Care has its own unique reimbursement limits. “This is good news for military families out there with an ECHO-qualified family member,” said Elder Granger, TMA deputy director. To see more, go to: www.tricare.mil/Pressroom/News.aspx?fid=521.

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AFGE Questions West Point Privatization Study

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on April 15 challenged an A-76 privatization study that is threatening 300 public-sector jobs at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As a result of the study, which began in 2002, the Army recently made the decision to outsource more than 300 public works jobs to the private sector. AFGE National President John Gage called the A-76 West Point studies “the worst examples of government waste I’ve seen” since the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal. “This process is broken and it needs to stop right here and right now.” Gage said the West Point privatization review was plagued with problems, including the Army’s use of an illegal cost-plus contracting method instead of the required fixed-price method. AFGE also said the Army divided the workload into two studies, requiring federal employees to bid on them separately, and producing a disadvantage for those employees because it prohibited certain efficiencies of scale. AFGE said the seven-year privatization review is also in violation of a federal law that limits A-76 studies to no more than 30 months. The union noted that lawmakers plan to soon introduce legislation to prevent the privatization of federal jobs at West Point. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=983.

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