Federal Daily - December 21, 2009
'Sexting' at Work — Can Employees Expect Privacy on Government Equipment?
Federal Computer Week—As the Supreme Court gears up to read some really racy text messages in a case that may determine whether government workers can privately send racy messages to their lovers, FCW’s John Breedon offers some insightful commentary…
“I know it sounds like a soap opera, but privacy while doing government work is serious business. The case in question stems from a police officer in Ontario, Calif., who was caught sending 456 personal text messages — an average of 28 per shift — over his department-issued smart phone while on duty. The city’s wireless contract put a limit on messaging, and he and other officers were exceeding the limit, causing overage charges. So the city took a look at the messages for the top two offenders and found that only three were actually work related.”
To see the rest of his commentary, go to: http://fcw.com/Articles/2009/12/17/Government-sexting-reaches-Supreme-Court.aspx?Page=1/
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TRICARE Offers New Option for Retired Guard, Reserves
TRICARE will soon expand health care eligibility to certain retired members of the National Guard and Reserve, TRICARE Management Activity announced on Dec. 17.
The rule change, prompted by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010, will give certain National Guard and Reserve members—so-called “gray area” reservists—a broader opportunity to purchase TRICARE health care coverage.
Previously, qualified Selected Reserve members could enroll in premium-based coverage under TRICARE Reserve Select—or TRS—but they did not have other TRICARE health coverage options until they reached age 60. Under the change, certain members of the Retired Reserve who are not yet age 60 will be allowed to purchase TRICARE Standard (and Extra) coverage, TMA said.
However, the new program, tentatively called TRICARE Retired Reserve, will have different qualifications, premiums, co-payment rates and catastrophic cap requirements. And by statute, the premium rates will have to cover the full cost of the coverage. That is different from TRS, where the statute requires Selected Reserve members to pay only 28 percent of the cost of the coverage, TMA said.
Premiums for the new gray area retiree program will be announced after program rules are published in the Federal Register; it should launch by late summer or early fall of next year.
“We’re working hard to coordinate all the details of eligibility, coverage and costs, and expedite implementation of this important program,” said Christine Hunter, TMA deputy director. “This is a major benefit program.”
To see more, go to: www.tricare.mil/Pressroom/News.aspx?fid=573.
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IG Says DHS Needs to Tighten Conference Travel Oversight
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has told the agency to tighten its conference-travel oversight after an investigation found that DHS components could not adequately document all of the $110 million they spent over three years to send employees to mission-related events.
The OIG on Dec, 17 released the results of its investigation in a report on conference-related spending for DHS components in Fiscal Years 2005, 2006 and 2007.
According to the report, DHS spent approximately $60 million in direct costs, as well as $50 million identified as salary expenses, to send employees around the world to conferences in 43,989 “instances.” The number does not represent 43,989 different employees, because some employees attended more than one of the 8,359 conferences that were documented.
For the conferences the IG reviewed, there was little documentation associated with planning, and insufficient supporting documentation for costs. That makes such spending vulnerable to fraud and waste, the report said. Costs were reported inconsistently, and supporting documents and invoices frequently did not match up with the total reported costs spent on the conference, the report said.
For example, the Directorate for Science and Technology reported that for the BioWatch conference, it spent approximately $190,000 on conference costs, excluding travel and salary expenses. However, a task order was issued for $426,637, and a post-conference invoice from a conference contractor listed the final cost as $288,888.
To see more, go to: http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_10-19_Nov09.pdf (report) or http://tinyurl.com/yf78nvt. (Collins).
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Senators Offer Two Bills to Bolster Acquisition Workforce
Senators on Dec. 17 introduced a pair of bills that would—if signed into law—improve the federal acquisition workforce system and create a master-level federal acquisition management fellows program.
The bills, introduced by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, would stress mentoring, career development and better management.
The first bill, “The Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act of 2009,” would create a federal acquisition management fellows program to help mentor acquisition leaders. It would combine a master’s degree-level academic curriculum with on-the-job training in multiple federal agencies, lawmakers said. And, it could be used as a recruiting tool by partnering with leading universities that have specialized government acquisition programs.
The second bill, “The Federal Acquisition Institute Improvement Act of 2009,” would prompt reorganization, allowing the Federal Acquisition Institute to fulfill its mission of aiding career development and maximizing workforce potential.
While contract spending has risen dramatically in recent years, the number of acquisition professionals has been steady—and about half of those workers will be eligible to retire over the next 10 years, lawmakers said.
“With the increases we’ve seen in government contracting, it is unacceptable that our acquisition workforce is falling behind in terms of training and resources they need to effectively oversee spending,” said McCaskill.
To see more, go to: http://mccaskill.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=320997.
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