Federal Daily - May 28, 2009
AFGE Protests at Supply Centers, West Point
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) members are protesting DoD privatization studies that may result in job losses at the West Point Military Academy and DoD supply centers in Columbus, Ohio and Richmond, Va., AFGE said May 26. AFGE members, who are part of AFGE Defense Conference, staged a protest on behalf of about 460 West Point department of public works employees who face losing their jobs after DoD decided they had lost a public-private privatization competition. AFGE also protested an ongoing Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 privatization competition at the two DoD supply centers that could potentially cost over 300 employees their jobs. AFGE noted that the Government Accountability Office has found that privatization competitions are frequently marred with cost overruns that overstate potential savings and underestimate procedural costs, and that A-76 studies disproportionately affect female and African-American employees. In light of these revelations, lawmakers suspended all new A-76 reviews in the Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, and a bill is moving through Congress that would—if signed into law—abolish provisions of the privatization effort. “To some, these jobs may just seem like numbers on a page, but these are people who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities, the taxpayers, and the mission of their agencies,” said Don Hale, chairman of AFGE’s Defense Conference and president of AFGE Local 2367, which represents civilian defense employees at the West Point Military Academy. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=996.
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Bill Would Improve Health Care for Women Vets
Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, this month introduced legislation that would, if signed into law, improve the delivery of health care for women veterans. The bill, the Women Veterans Access to Care Act, would emphasize four essential aspects of care for female veterans—physical health, mental health, improved tele-health services, and the hiring of health professionals who are specialists in women’s health issues. Among other things, the bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement an outreach program to provide women veterans and their families with information on various available resources, including mental and behavioral resources. The bill also would require VA to conduct a study on health care for women vets to identify the main causes of stress, and the most effective methods to reduce it. Additionally, VA would conduct an evaluation of the various private and public health care systems through which women veterans receive care. Boswell also said that because an estimated one-third of female veterans who have sought counseling at the VA report having been the victim of rape or attempted rape during their service, female vets need services created specifically to address that issue. “Right now, the selfless commitment of female veterans to their nation is not matched by their government’s commitment to them,” said Boswell. To see more, go to: http://boswell.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=24&
parentid=23§iontree=23,24&itemid=511.
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