http://gaounion.org To Promote Understanding of Issues & Challenges Facing GAO & its Analysts Union, Local 1921 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:32:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Compensation not top motivator: Pay for performance won't fix problems By DAVID FRICK, OpEd to Federal Times - August 22, 2010 ...Does pay, by itself, motivate the typical fed? I looked at this specific question in my doctoral project in which I surveyed 132 senior federal employees across all agencies. My ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1211 Analysis: The great federal pay debate By Howard Risher, Special to GovExec.com - August 19, 2010 Federal pay has been a contentious issue since the earliest days of the country. Now, in the middle of a deep recession with public concern about deficit spending, it is not at all surprising to ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1210 The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last month approved the GAO Improvement Act of 2010 (S.2991), sponsored by Senator Claire McCaskill & co-sponsored by Senator Susan Collins.  A McCaskill/Collins substitute version of the bill was voted out of committee on July 28. The approved measure would strengthen GAO access to information by explicitly reaffirming that ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1180 Late last month, the GAO Union issued its report on how management implemented GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2004. The manner in which former Comptroller General David Walker chose to exercise the discretion provided him under this Act was the main catalyst for the GAO analyst staff to unionize.  Of particular concern to staff were Walker's market-based pay and personnel ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1190 GAO Access to Intel Obstructed by 1988 OLC Opinion Steven Aftergood, Secrecy News, a publication of the Federation of American Scientists - Aug 5, 2010 The current dispute between the Obama Administration and some members of Congress over whether to strengthen oversight of intelligence programs by the Government Accountability Office is ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1207 Bill with 1.4 percent federal pay raise clears Senate committee By Elizabeth Newell, Govexec.com - July 30, 2010 An appropriations bill including a 1.4 percent raise for civilian federal employees cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The Fiscal 2011 Financial Services and General Government spending bill includes a 1.4 percent ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1179 For Budget Chief, Not All Farewells Are Fond: Budget Chief Tilted to Executive Branch By MATT BAI, NYTimes Political Times - Published: July 28, 2010 ...President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. are the first tandem to move directly from Capitol Hill to the White House since 1960, and ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1173 Outgoing OMB chief: Public has a point about government waste By Norah Swanson, Govexec.com - July 28, 2010 In his farewell address on Wednesday, the director of the Office of Management and Budget said the public is onto something when it criticizes the federal bureaucracy... Government inefficiency can be attributed largely ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1174 Nancy Pelosi: 'How Dare The Administration' Threaten To Veto Intelligence Reform (VIDEO) Elyse Siegel, The Huffington Post - Posted: 07-27-10 House Speaker Nancy Pelsoi issued a warning to the Obama administration over the weekend on the importance of the White House standing behind Democratic efforts to expand the scope of intelligence ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1176 Obama nominates Clinton budget director to lead OMB By Robert Brodsky, Govexec.com - July 13, 2010 ...Jacob Lew, who ran OMB during the Clinton administration from 1998 to 2001, will return to the office in August as he takes over for outgoing budget chief Peter Orszag, the White House announced ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1170 Clay: Modernize Records Management By Rep. William Lacy Clay (PDF of Article) , Special to Roll Call - July 12, 2010 Federal electronic records that document our nation’s history, preserve our rights and maintain critical archival materials are at great risk. There is growing concern, inside and outside of Congress, about federal ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1168 Sen. Feinstein blames Pelosi for intel block By Alexander Bolton, The Hill - July 2, 2010 Speaker Pelosi met with National Security Adviser James Jones on Wednesday to push the administration to grant Congress greater oversight of covert intelligence activity. Her demands: She wants to empower Congress to use the Government ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1167 Myths of Austerity By PAUL KRUGMAN, New York Times, Op-Ed Columnist - July 1, 2010 For the last few months, I and others have watched, with amazement and horror, the emergence of a consensus in policy circles in favor of immediate fiscal austerity. That is, somehow it has become conventional wisdom that ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1164 U.S., Europe At Odds Over Economic Recovery: Guy Raz talks to Ex-Comptroller General David Walker about short and long term fiscal issues, National Public Radio - June 27, 2010 Excerpts from interview with David Walker, former comptroller general of the United States and president of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation: Mr. WALKER: ...we ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1166 Peterson Fdtn. Head Nostalgic for Debtor’s Prison; Is Indentured Servitude Next? By: Jon Walker, firedoglake.com - Tuesday June 15, 2010 David Walker is the president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, founded by billionaire financier Peterson as a think tank on fiscal issues. On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” recently, Walker seemed ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1163 Pentagon tries to break from past on pay, personnel reform By Elizabeth Newell, Govexec.com - June 9, 2010 True collaboration among stakeholders will be crucial to ensuring future Defense Department personnel systems avoid the flaws that led to the downfall of the National Security Personnel System, agency and labor witnesses told ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1160 Provide Your Comments to Congress on GAO's Human Capital Flexibility by Friday, June 11, 2010 Union News, GAO ANALYSTS NEWS CENTER - May 27, 2010 Congress mandated in 2004 that GAO report on how GAO has exercised its personnel management flexibility under sections 2, 3, 4, 9, and 10 of the ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1162 Re-applying the Lipstick: The Next Generation of Merit Pay By Robbie Kunreuther, www.fedsmith.com - Tuesday, June 1, 2010 The article discussed below mentions GAO and how PFP helped motivate the formation of the GAO union. Robbie Kunreuther, Director of Government Personnel Services (GPS), who has 35 years in the government's trenches (13+ in the civil service ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1159 Unions fight proposed pay freeze for feds: Federal employee groups mount offensive against House, Senate attempts to freeze federal pay in fiscal 2011 By FederalDaily Staff, Federal Computer Week - Jun 01, 2010 Unions and federal employee groups have had their hands full working to turn back attempts in the House ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1161 United States Government Accountability Office Fiscal Year 2011 Performance Plan GAO-10-598SP - May 21, 2010 (PDF, 32 pages) Summary: This report presents the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2011. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual plan informs the Congress and the ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1203 Platts out of GAO mix: Platts rules out GAO nomination, focuses on 19th Congressional District, Scot A. Pitzer, Times Staff Reporter, Gettysburg Times - Published: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Rep. Todd Platts, R-PA 19, in an interview late Tuesday evening following his convincing primary victory over Republican challenger Michael Smeltzer, addressed ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1157 Davis_ECF_Appeal_Reply_Brief_as filed_051810 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT _______________________________ No 10-5044 _______________________________ Civil Action No. 06-1002 _______________________________ ARTHUR L. DAVIS, JIMMIE GILBERT, JAMES D. MOSES, for themselves and all others similarly situated, Appellants, V. GENE l. DODARO, ACTING COMPTROLLER GENERAL, of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Michael Wolf, Chair, The Personnel Appeals Board of the GAO, Appellees. Appellants, Arthur L. Davis, Jimmie Gilbert and ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1155 The GAO Must Perform a Diligent Independent Audit of the More Than $2 Trillion Issued By the Fed Robert Auerbach, Professor, Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin | The Huffington Post - Posted: May 13, 2010 Senator Bernie Sanders' amendment for a partial audit ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1154 Former U.S. Comptroller General: ‘People starved for truth and leadership’ by Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor | The Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida - May 12, 2010 A man who ran government accountability is demanding more of it.  David Walker, a 10-year veteran as U.S. Comptroller General and head of the U.S. ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1151 Senate approves toned-down Fed audit By Silla Brush | The Hill - May 11, 2010 The Senate on Tuesday, with overwhelming support, passed legislation requiring new audits of the Federal Reserve. The 96-0 vote came after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) modified an earlier version of the audit legislation that was strongly opposed by ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1153 What was wrong with Paul Light's OpEd The right choice for a federal watchdog (PDF) published today by the Washington Post? (Light's OpEd also was published previously by the Post on Apr. 30 under the title "Who best could lead the GAO?") By GAOUnion.org - May 7, 2010 Professor Paul Light recently has opined on the issue of who should be ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1150 Who best could lead the GAO?  (PDF) by Paul C. Light, Professor at New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, Washington Post Op-Ed - April 30, 2010 It is not clear whom President Obama will select, but no matter the nominee, three criteria should be at the fore:First, ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1145 McCaskill Presses to End Secret Holds By Jessica Brady, Roll Call Staff - April 29, 2010 McCaskill announced that along with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), she would no longer put secret holds on any names. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation last week ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1074 Is GAO As Neutral as Everyone Assumes? (PDF) By Rebecca Adams, CQ Staff: CQ Weekly - April 26, 2010 The job of comptroller general of the United States, the person who oversees the Government Accountability Office and its many audits and investigations, generally has been seen as above partisanship. But that ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1129 In his Memorandum Opinion dated December 18, 2009, Judge Emmett G. Sullivan, of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, refused to dismiss two of GAO Plaintiff James D. Moses’ age discrimination claims in Case No. 06-CV- 01712 (EGS). Specifically, the Court denied GAO’s motion to dismiss without prejudice on Plaintiff’s claims ... http://gaounion.org/?p=1058