'...But first lawmakers voted on a plan to freeze the salaries of lawmakers and federal employees. Despite Democratic objections, the bill passed 287 to 129, with 55 Democrats voting with Republicans to approve the measure....'
'...As of March 27, 2013, federal employees will see a half-percent to one percent pay increase, marking the end of a pay freeze that has been in place since late 2010. Congress hasn't seen a pay raise since 2009....'
'...Ever wonder what happens in the airport back room where your body image is being screened by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents?...'
'..."This move marks a shameful abandonment of his campaign promises to protect the middle class and the needy from tax increases or harmful benefit cuts," Cox said. "The currently used measures of inflation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CPI-U and the CPI-W, already understate inflation for the elderly. This change will cause a large hit to federal pensions, Social Security benefits, Veterans' benefits, and federal benefits to poor children and the disabled. It also will raise taxes substantially on the poor and middle class, while leaving the rich untouched." PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1xhPP) ...'
'...Authorities say two men being held on bank robbery charges have escaped from a downtown Chicago federal prison....'
'...Workers at the Department of Homeland Security are the least satisfied at work of employees at all the large federal agencies, according to a new government survey. DHS...'
'...It is common for agencies to offer one or both when forced to downsize, with one motivation being to avoid RIFs or at least lessen the need for them. Buyouts are payments to encourage employees to retire or quit; the typical pre-tax amount is $25,000 but in some cases it has been less....'
'...Overall, federal employees filed 6,584 retirement claims last month; OPM predicted receiving 7,000. It's the fourth time this year the number of claims OPM received fell below expectations. ...'
'...TSA is moving forward in an effort to develop a "next generation" of advanced imaging technology (AIT)....'
'...Fred Rolando, the union’s president, has offered negotiating positions that would abandon FEHB, thereby undermining an insurance exchange that actually works well. The APWU signed one of the worst negotiated contracts in the history of labor, giving back years of gains and benefits while endorsing the false narrative being peddled by Donahoe. ...'
'... Federal buyouts come in many flavors. If you work for most federal agencies there is the take-it- or-leave it, one-size-fits-all $25,000 buyout. You agree to ...'
'...Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] agency is ending its contract with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM), as it intends to purchase $2.1 million worth of iPhones for its 17,600 employees. According to ICE...'
'...in Detroit, the federal government is expected to cut 4,000 jobs by 2022, with state and local adding fewer than 100 jobs. In Oklahoma City, federal cuts, at just over 3,000 jobs, will also negate a majority of the nearly 4,800 jobs that will be added at the state and local levels....'
'...A leading advocate in Congress for federal workers, Sen. Daniel Akaka says he's pleased by progress on some of his priorities: Legislation to allow employees to work from home, reforms in hiring and the security clearance process, improvements in matching veterans and people with disabilities to jobs....'
'... Buried in the news over the extended federal pay freeze, the impending fiscal cliff and the umpteenth continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown is this fact: Many military retirees will be paying a little more for their health care as of Oct. 1. Day 1 of fiscal 2013 means that some TRICARE Prime beneficiaries now will have to pay $...'
'...The bodies of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi were returned to the United States on Friday...'
'...Margo Oge, director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, told staff Tuesday she will be leaving the agency at the end of the month after more than 30 years....'
'...In a letter to House and Senate leaders, the president reiterated his support for ending the pay freeze with a 0.5 percent raise, to take effect Jan. 1, 2013, that he proposed early this year....'
'...Several pieces of legislation of importance to federal employees crossed the congressional finish line late last week while some others reached the halfway mark, including one calling for the firing of those far behind in paying their federal taxes....'
'...Just a few miles from the gated estates of corporate chieftains and Hollywood stars, Ms. Keany lives in a tiny mobile home, barely getting by on little more than $1,082 a month from Social Security....'
'...The agency that hears challenges to disciplinary actions, whistle-blower retaliation complaints and appeals of many other job decisions affecting federal employees is planning to overhaul many of its policies. Proposed rules that the Merit Systems Protection Board published Thursday in the Federal Register would...'
'...A little more than half of all Senior Executive Service members are satisfied with their pay levels, a significant drop from 2008 numbers, according to the Office of Personnel Management’s latest SES survey....'
'...A cyber attack has potentially stolen the personal information of as many as 123,000 government employee Thrift Savings Plan participants, according to Reston-based Serco Inc., which supports the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board....'
'...Federal agencies are leading the way in telecommuting, according to the Alexandria, Va.-based Telework Exchange’s (TE) report...'
'...after years of paying income taxes on your “contributions” you are ready to retire and collect the benefits—only to find out that they may be taxable! It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Well, here’s how...'
'...pay an additional 5 percent of salary for retirement benefits, with no increase in those benefits in new bill. “After this goes into effect, they will in fact not have as much take-home as they did the day before,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) acknowledged on the House floor....'
'...Items Concealed in VCR: A checked bag at Newark (EWR) appeared to contain a VCR that had been tampered with. After TSA’s Explosive Detection Team cleared the bag to be searched, it was determined that the contents inside of the unit was a VHS tape along with 23 smartphones each individually wrapped in aluminum foil and taped to the unit. ...'
'...money toward incentives for about 100,000 employees to retire in the near future. Some interested parties blame much of the Postal Service’s financial problems on a law that has required the USPS to pay for several decades worth of future retirement benefits over the course of a few years....'
'...threatening a federal shutdown. And a payroll tax cut, extra unemployment benefits and a host of temporary tax breaks for businesses will all be about to expire. "You've got a budget just about to blow up. There's never been anything like this," Bixby said ...'
'...the impending closure of 223 mail-processing facilities and post offices could be detrimental to broad segments of the country, including small-businesses owners and people who rely on mail deliveries of medication. ...'
'...NASA reported that it was the target of 47 sophisticated cyberattacks - the report calls them "advanced persistent threats" - in 2011. Thirteen of those 47 attacks successfully compromised NASA computers....'
'...the bill is a GOP attack on federal workers, and said Congress needs to balance any proposed cuts to the government...'
'...Federal employees would pay more toward their pensions and new employees would receive less generous retirement benefits under a House Republican plan to pay for highway programs....'
'...In exchange for Republicans dropping the NMB rule recission, Democrats have agreed to include a provision that would raise the threshold for rail and aviation workers expressing interest in forming a union from 35 percent to 50 percent. This would mark the first time that an FAA reauthorization included any NMB changes, which is likely to make organized labor uncomfortable....'
'...The radiation exposure of 16 workers at a nuclear research lab in I, daho stemmed from a failure to properly assess the risks posed by the handling of decades-old plutonium fuel cells, federal investigators concluded on Wednesday....'
'...After a two-year freeze in federal workers’ salaries, President Obama will propose a 0.5 percent pay increase for civilian employees as part of his 2013...'
'...The rising salaries make the federal government a desirable place to work, and the analysis also found that workers are less likely to leave...'
