Federal Daily - May 20, 2009

GAO: NSPS Must Allay Employee Concerns

As the government reviews the efficacy and fairness of DoD’s National Security Personnel System (NSPS), the department needs to stress internal safeguards and address employee criticisms of the controversial pay-for-performance civilian pay system, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said. The recommendations came in a May 18 letter in response to questions posed by Reps. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, and J. Randy Forbes, R-Va, chairman and ranking member, respectively, of a House Armed Services subcommittee. In the letter, GAO said it is key to incorporate internal safeguards into the pay system, and to ensure that the department adequately addresses employee perceptions of NSPS. “At a minimum, this plan should include actions to mitigate employee concerns about the potential influence that employees’ and supervisors’ writing skills have on the panels’ assessment of employee ratings and the lack of transparency and understanding of the pay pool panel process,” GAO said. “Such a plan would demonstrate to employees that the department is listening to their concerns.” DoD earlier this year halted expansion of NSPS until experts could take a closer look at the system. Approximately 205,000 DoD civilian employees are currently under NSPS. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d09669r.pdf.

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CBP to spend $100M on Border Surveillance Technology

Federal Computer Week—The Homeland Security Department plans to spend $100 million in economic stimulus funding to install border surveillance technology and improve tactical communications, according to a planning document published online. The stimulus law Congress passed in February restored money to Customs and Border Protection’s strategic border technologies, which had been redirected to border fencing. CBP plans to spend $50 million on the SBInet electronic surveillance system being built on the border between the United States and Mexico and $50 million on tactical communications. The SBInet system includes cameras, radar and communications devices strung on towers and linked to border patrol operations centers. To see the rest of this story, go to: www.fcw.com/articles/2009/05/18/cbp-to-spend-100m-on-sbinet.aspx.

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National Guard Will be Peacekeepers in Iraq, Afghanistan

After combat has concluded, National Guard troops will stay behind as peacekeepers in Afghanistan and Iraq in the future, according to a May 13 news report posted online by the National Guard Bureau. Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, in a speech to the Heritage Foundation, said he has directed his staff to develop post-conflict strategies for the twin war zones. “In many cases, the National Guard—primarily the Army National Guard—stays behind, and they are the people who finish the job,” McKinley said. He also pointed out that he could see a time when the National Guard may be used for peacekeeping in other parts of the world, just as in Kosovo. The National Guard also contributes to the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai, an international peacekeeping force overseeing the peace between Egypt and Israel crafted in the 1979 Camp David Accords. In addition to aiding war efforts, the National Guard is involved in other international operations—such as the Agribusiness Development Teams which are helping Afghan farmers improve agricultural practices. “Just something as small as trellising a crop, getting it up off the ground, has produced crop loads in excess of anything they’ve ever seen before,” McKinley said. To see more, go to: www.ngb.army.mil/news/archives/2009/05/051809-Peacekeeping.aspx.

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