Federal Manager's Daily Report: Thursday, November 25, 2004 FEDweek is the largest information resource in the federal government with now over one million weekly readers. To Subscribe, Go to http://www.fedweek.com/subscribepopup.htm *********************************************************** Valued Added Service to Our Readers:
Federal Job Search http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Job Bulletin Board http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Unlimited Internet Access for as low as $10.90 http://fedweeknet.com Our Readers Will Get Special Discounted Travel Rates Including, Airfare, Hotels, RV's, Car Rentals, and Special Weekend Getaways--Anywhere in the world http://www.fedweek.com/images/adart/travel_redirect.htm ********************************************************** The Staff Here at FEDweek Would Like to Wish All of You a Happy Thanksgiving Day. All of our thoughts and prayers will be with our US Soldiers in combat right now. In This Week's Issue 1. Senator Derides Management Oversight of Employee Relocation Program 2. FAA Promotes Flight Plan, Receives Award www.faa.gov 3. TSA Moves Ahead With Biometric ID Card 4. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php *********************************************************** 1. Senator Derides Management Oversight of Employee Relocation Program Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has sent a letter to the director of the Office of Management and Budget and the administrator of the General Services Administration addressing "the high cost, wasteful practices, and weak management oversight by the government when it pays to move federal employees to other areas for their jobs," according to a committee statement. "The federal government's employee relocation program appears to be costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year," said Grassley. "Yet, no one has the foggiest idea how many employees are relocated on the taxpayers' dime, how much it's costing the taxpayers, and what taxpayers are really getting in return." The senator cited a GSA draft report saying limited data of poor quality has prevented it for six years from even publishing the results of its statutorily required biennial reports on employee relocations. GSA officials said agencies often do not submit data, or submit unusable information, and that it lacks the authority to enforce and carry out its reporting requirements, said the statement. Grassley called on OMB to help GSA collect the information by directing agencies to comply with the statutes and follow up to ensure government-wide compliance. He said many of the moves that have been reported exceed $150,000, and that he is concerned about "sloppy calculations" that overpay transferees by about $700 per move. "I am concerned about this because it seems that OMB and GSA hold the key to developing, monitoring and managing sound relocation practices within the federal government," said the senator, adding, "that ball seems to have been slipping through a lot of hands." 2. FAA Promotes Flight Plan, Receives Award An association dedicated to advancing strategic thought has awarded the Federal Aviation Administration its 2004 Richard Goldman Strategic Planning Award in recognition of FAA's "Flight Plan 2004--2005." A panel of judges drawn from corporate and academic specialists in strategy and management selected the flight plan for "competency in strategy formulation; utilization of industry trends; knowledge and use of customer data; realization of strategic goals; application of earlier lessons; innovation; and use of performance measures to determine successes," FAA has announced. It said the flight plan, updated yearly and scalable to specific budgets, "sets measurable goals and initiatives to achieve increased aviation safety, greater airspace capacity, international leadership, and organizational excellence," and that it directly supports the Department of Transportation�s own strategic plan. FAA offices have standardized and linked their annual business plans to the flight plan, and an online tracking tool allows anyone to monitor objectives at www.faa.gov. 3. TSA Moves Ahead With Biometric ID Card The Transportation and Security Administration has announced that it began testing the technology and business processes involved with its "transportation worker identification credential," a biometric security card. The seven-month pilot would eventually involve up to 200,000 workers in six states, starting at the Port of Long Beach Container Terminal, and expanding to 34 sites, according to TSA. Because they contain biometric data the cards can only be used by those they are issued to and TSA hopes a single card will replace the many different cards its workers currently carry to access various facilities. TSA said it is working with the Coast Guard on joint rulemaking to implement the TWIC for maritime workers and will work with other agencies to develop rules for other modes of transportation. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php Passman & Kaplan announces the October 2004 publication of the SECOND EDITION of the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide. This comprehensive book, first published by Passman & Kaplan in 1999, has been called the definitive how-to guide for enforcing the rights of federal employees. The second edition of the Guide includes 100 PAGES OF ADDITIONAL NEW MATERIAL (now 616 total pages) and useful advice. New features include information on internet legal research, preparing for and conducting a hearing, sample discovery requests, and up-to-date contact information for federal personnel agencies. The Guide also includes a listing of frequently used civil service acronyms and practical appendices of sample forms, charts illustrating appeal rights, and commonly-needed deadlines. As with the first edition of the Guide, Passman & Kaplan has attempted to move away from the "legalese" which so often complicates an already-bewildering array of regulations and policies. Although the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, Second Edition is clearly an invaluable resource for practioners, Passman & Kaplan has maintained its commitment to target the book to the average federal employee. ********************************************************** To place your order for The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide just go to http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php and place your secure order online. The cost of this publication is only $49.95 Plus $6 s&h--Remember, this is a 616 page reference that is chalked full of invaluable information that every federal manager must have! Or you can mail your order with payment of $55.95 to FEDweek, PO Box 5519, Glen Allen, VA 23058. This is a one of a kind book you can't afford to be without! Published by FEDweek 11541 Nuckols Rd. Suite D Glen Allen, VA 23059 (804) 288-5321 Website: http://www.fedweek.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are subscribed to federalmanagersdailyreport as [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
