1. Civil Rights Commission management falls short, report says
By Kimberly Palmer
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights suffers from persistent management problems and has failed to comply with past recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office, according to a new report by the watchdog agency.
The commission, which was created by the 1957 Civil Rights Act, is charged with studying discrimination and inequality in voting rights, education, employment and other areas. The report (GAO-05-77) found that the agency has not reviewed its goals or updated its strategic plan since 1997, and that it is not in compliance with the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act, which requires agencies to outline their annual and long-term goals in performance reports.
In a letter attached to the report, Les Jin, staff director of the commission, disagreed with GAO's findings. He suggested the agency had rushed to finish the report and, as a result, reached inaccurate conclusions. Jin also cited the relatively small size of the agency, which has an annual budget of about $9 million, as a factor.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102804k1.htm
2. National security appointments would loom large in Kerry administration
By Carl M. Cannon, National Journal
Jamie Rubin served as State Department spokesman during the Clinton administration, but that is not the last job in government he hopes to have. Rubin has been carrying water for John Kerry on foreign-policy issues, and during the Democratic convention this summer, he went so far as to tell reporters that Kerry "has already passed the commander-in-chief test."
This struck some Republicans as over the top—the test Rubin had in mind comes after Inauguration Day, not before—but it impressed R.W. Apple of The New York Times enough to earn Rubin a mention in The Times as a possible national security adviser in a Kerry White House.
As it happens, history recorded Rubin's reaction that morning when he saw the mention: He placed a damage-control call to Kerry foreign-policy adviser Rand Beers, the man most Democrats around the Kerry campaign consider the front-runner to head the National Security Council. Beers is an unpretentious sort, but he couldn't resist a little needle—even in the presence of a reporter. "So I hear you are the next national security adviser," Beers told Rubin. On the other end of the line, Rubin must have made light of Apple's mention, because Beers ended their conversation by saying, "I fully intend to make a joke of it."
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102504nj1.htm
3. Personnel purge foreseen at CIA
From Global Security Newswire
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials have said that new CIA Director Porter Goss appears set to conduct a purge of the agency's Directorate of Operations after the Nov. 2 election, Knight Ridder news service reported Thursday.
Goss has placed at least four former Republican congressional staff members in top CIA positions and has given them powers over personnel and restructuring, the officials said.
One of Goss' aides has been "going around telling people they are to fire 80 to 90 people" in the Directorate of Operations, which manages clandestine intelligence activities, a former intelligence official said.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102804gsn1.htm
4. Agency managers mostly pleased with job competitions, survey finds
By Kimberly Palmer
Federal managers who oversee job competitions between federal employees and private contractors are largely satisfied with their competitive sourcing achievements, according to a survey by a group that represents contractors.
Contractors and federal employees generally have been critical of the current guidelines for job competitions, with both groups saying the rules are biased against them. The report, produced by the Professional Services Council and consulting firm Grant Thornton, noted a rift between the federal managers interviewed and PSC members, who generally believed "that the process is deeply flawed and in need of a major overhaul."
But managers said they don't need or want any major rule changes. "There have been a lot of policy changes. [Managers] felt they needed time to acclimate and adapt," said Stan Soloway, president of PSC.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102704k1.htm
5. Court stops Defense Department anthrax vaccinations
By David McGlinchey
The Defense Department suspended anthrax vaccinations for the second time in a year after the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that more public input was required on the dangers of the controversial inoculation.
"This court has an obligation to ensure that [the Food and Drug Administration] follow the law in order to carry out its vital role in protecting the public's health and safety," according to the court's ruling, which was issued Wednesday. "By refusing to give the American public an opportunity to submit meaningful comments on the anthrax vaccine's classification, the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act."
A Pentagon spokesman said the suspension of anthrax vaccinations would not have any effect on the deployment of personnel to conflicts overseas. A memo from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also defended the existing policy, saying that Pentagon officials "remain convinced" that the "anthrax vaccine is safe and effective."
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102904d1.htm
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6. Lawmaker calls for investigation over quizzing of HHS appointees
From National Journal's Technology Daily
A member of the House Science Committee last week called on the Justice Department to investigate whether White House officials broke the law by quizzing Health and Human Service Department scientific advisory appointees about their political affiliations and voting records.
Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., said the White House then excluded advisers if their opinions were not in line with the Bush administration.
Because the Government Accountability Office determined that such practices are illegal, Baird penned a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft criticizing the White House and the Office of Government Ethics for deeming several GAO ethics recommendations as unnecessary.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102704tdpm1.htm
7. New management directives on the way for DHS
By Chris Strohm
Homeland Security Department officials are preparing to issue new directives governing five key management areas, DHS Deputy Secretary James Loy said Wednesday.
The directives will "force" the integration of "support-side functions" of the department, giving managers the ability to make organizational, budget or employment changes within each of the key areas, Loy said.
According to DHS spokesman Larry Orluskie, the directives govern the department's operations in the areas of financial management, human resources, acquisition, administrative services and information technology.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102704c1.htm
8. Congressional challenger makes personnel reform a campaign issue
By David McGlinchey
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and his challenger in this year's election, Democrat James Socas, sat in the banquet hall of a motel in northwestern Virginia and asked a crowd of retired federal employees for their votes.
As the Nov. 2 election approaches, most congressional lawmakers involved in federal workers' issues are expected to win reelection by comfortable margins. In past elections, Wolf has been just as relaxed. In 2002, he won 72 percent of the vote and in 2000, he received 84 percent. According to local observers, however, Wolf is facing one of the most spirited challenges of his 24-year career in Congress.
A former banking executive and congressional staff member, Socas has launched an aggressive campaign across Virginia's 10th Congressional District, which stretches from the Washington suburbs to the West Virginia border. Most notably, the Democratic challenger has made a campaign issue of the personnel reform movement in some federal agencies.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102604d1.htm
9. Agencies get new orders to report on costs, savings of job competitions
By Kimberly Palmer
Contractor groups and federal labor unions welcomed requirements that federal agencies provide more information about their efforts to put federal jobs up for competition, while each group said it still faced significant disadvantages in such competitions.
An Oct. 15 memo from the Office of Management and Budget outlined additional requirements for agencies to report on their competitive sourcing practices passed by Congress last year. They include reporting on savings from competitions, costs associated with holding the competitions, the number of bids received and how the winning bid was chosen. Agencies must give Congress reports on their competitive sourcing efforts with this information for fiscal 2004 by Dec. 31.
Federal employee organizations and representatives of contractors said information about competitions and what it takes to win them are currently shrouded in mystery. "I'd love to know how many bidders there are, and when you don't have any, I would want to know why. It's almost impossible to find that out now," said Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, which represents companies that bid on government contracts.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102504k1.htm
10. Special counsel says first veterans case will set employment precedent
By David McGlinchey
The first case brought brought to the Merit Systems Protection Board involving a federal agency accused of violating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act will set an important precedent for federal agencies and managers, according to Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch.
The case, which is being brought by the special counsel against the U.S. Postal Service, was initiated in June and is set for an MSPB hearing in early January.
"That's a rather quick hearing date � we've really pushed that," Bloch said Thursday during an interview with Government Executive. "We feel it is an important case that underscores the importance of enforcing the nondiscrimination parts of USERRA."
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102504d1.htm
11. This week's column: Pay and Benefits Watch
Eyes and Teeth
The House passes a bill to increase supplemental dental and vision insurance coverage for federal employees, and the Senate might take it up soon.
Full column: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102804pb.htm
12. Quote of the Week:
"In the long run, federal employees are still losers when they win."
-- Frank Carelli, director of government employees for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, saying that competitive sourcing hurts morale, causes workforce reductions and drops pay levels.
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