Fiscal Scare Tactics By PAUL KRUGMAN, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist, Published: February 4, 2010
True, there is a longer-term budget problem… But there’s no reason to panic about budget prospects for the next few years, or even for the next decade… Why, then, all the hysteria? The answer is politics… For the fact is that thanks to deficit hysteria, Washington now has its priorities all wrong: all the talk is about how to shave a few billion dollars off government spending, while there’s hardly any willingness to tackle mass unemployment. Policy is headed in the wrong direction — and millions of Americans will pay the price.

Did PAUL KRUGMAN have in mind former GAO head, Comptroller General David Walker, in this OpEd?  In particular, was he thinking of The Scary Budget Numbers By David Walker, former Comptroller General, published in The Daily Reconing on January 25, 2010?

Why federal workers deserve what they’re paid By Joe Davidson, Washington Post Federal Diary - February 3, 2010
President Obama may not have given federal workers much of a salary increase — just 1.4 percent — in his proposed budget for fiscal 2011, but he did show them some love. The affection is apparent in Chapter 10 of the “Analytical Perspectives” section of the budget. “We are fortunate to be able to rely upon a skilled workforce committed to the public service,” it says.

Of course, lip service like that comes quick and easy. What makes this budget stand out is the level of serious attention that the White House, through its Office of Management and Budget, gives to federal employees. Recent budgets by previous administrations have not gone into the depth of detail on federal-workplace issues that Obama’s spending plan does… With the title IMPROVING THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE Chapter 10 covers a variety of topics, including old favorites such as improving the federal hiring process, restoring the balance between employees and contractors, and improving employee training — a significant inclusion in a time of cutbacks. It also talks about using data collected to protect against fraud in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to improve health and lower insurance costs. And early in the chapter is a cogent rebuttal to those who misleadingly argue that federal pay is greater on average than private-sector pay.

Training for President Obama’s Executive Order on Labor-Management Forums
Federal agencies are responsible for initiating numerous labor-management relations initiatives as a result of President Obama’s December 9, 2009 Executive Order 13522 entitled “Creating Labor-Management Forums to Improve Delivery of Government Services.” The Executive Order requires that agency managers participate in a labor-management forum and allow employees and their union representatives to have pre-decisional involvement in all workplace matters. The Federal Management Institute recorded a webinar on Friday, January 29, 2010 regarding the requirements, issues and challenges that agencies and unions will face with its interpretation and implementation. You can view this recorded session from your home computer at this link (a download for your media player is required) at the Institute’s website, www.federalmanagementinstitute.com. One self-reported CPE is available through prior coordination with GAO’s Learning Center.

Contributed by Sean Seales, Dayton Rep, GAOUnion

GAO Union Reaches Agreement with Management to Improve PDP Pay Structure; Members Vote this Week
The union has reached an agreement with management to increase salary raises for staff in the Professional Development Program (PDP) . The PDP Pay Agreement increases the percentages used to calculate PDP raises and provides a one-time payment intended to address delays stemming from the negotiation process. In addition, the new raise formula for PDP staff will fix a quirk in the current system that disadvantages certain employees in comparison with peers who have roughly comparable salaries. The agreement between the Union and management is subject to approval by the Union membership.

This agreement must be voted on for ratification by all GAO Union members. Voting will begin on February 2 and will end on February 9. If you would like to join in order to vote, you have until February 5 to submit your application. PDP Pay Structure Brownbag Discussions will be held on Wed. 2/3 and Fri. 2/5 (VTC available); for details, go to this link.

GAO Gives Itself an “A” By Ken Rankin, WebCPA, Washington, D.C. - Feb. 1, 2010
Congressional auditors responsible for holding government agencies responsible for their financial integrity are doing a bang-up job - according to a performance review that they conducted on themselves. [See Summary of GAO’s Performance and Financial Information Fiscal Year 2009, GAO-10-235SP (Full Report, PDF 28 pages) Jan. 21, 2010). Ironically, the report includes an out-of-date image of the GAO Seal on page 3, with incorrect colors of the bald eagle’s head, beak, and tail.]

As Congress’ watchdog organization, the Government Accountability Office is often sharply critical of slipshod accounting practices and other deficiencies at the federal departments and agencies that it audits. But when the GAO turned the spotlight on its own activities, the government auditors found little to carp about. According to a new, self-administered performance review, during fiscal year 2009, the “GAO met or exceeded all of its performance targets” and made recommendations that resulted in “over 1,300 improvements in laws and government programs and operations.”At the same time, the GAO praised itself for “identifying $43 billion in financial benefits” to taxpayers - “a return of $80 for every dollar the GAO spent,” according to the report.

“The election of a new U.S. president in November 2008 marked the first wartime presidential transition in 40 years and the first administration change since 9/11,” acting GAO comptroller Gene Dodaro said. “To ensure that the government carried out its essential missions as efficiently and effectively as possible during this time of change, we did our part to help effect a seamless transition by outreaching to key members of the new administration and the Congress.”

This post was shared with GAOUnion.org by a GAO retiree who is one of the plaintiffs in the GAO Auditor/Analyst Age Discrimination Class Action lawsuit against the GAO (Federal Court Case No 87-3538)

Age Discrimination Has Undermined GAO’s Most Experienced and Knowledgeable Auditors/Analysts as well as the GAO Itself

1. The cancer of age discrimination has been growing for decades within one of the most important agencies in the United States Government—the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  This cancer has undermined GAO’s ability to improve Government efficiency and accountability.  Age discrimination at GAO involves the often subtle, yet widespread, continuing, and systematic actions taken to deny or limit opportunities on the basis of age to GAO’s most experienced and knowledgeable auditors and analysts. The end result is that GAO, once a premiere investigative agency and renowned as the “watchdog agency of the federal government” and “the U.S. taxpayers best friend” has become a toothless and non-functional failure as evidenced by the present state of the lack of “accountability” in the government and each federal agency.

2. This class action lawsuit is being brought by the approximately 7000 older GAO auditors/analysts who have been, or are currently, employed by GAO over the past 30 years. Each plaintiff and each similarly situated person, as an older GAO auditor/analyst, before retiring or being constructively discharged from the GAO, suffered years of humiliation watching lesser qualified persons err in the responsibilities assigned by those in charge of the agency.

The Violation of the Public Interest - GAO Age Discrimination Has Also Undermined Government Efficiency and Accountability

3. As a matter of the public interest, huge damage has been done directly to older auditors/analysts at GAO which has limited their capability to assure better accountability, integrity, efficiency, and performance in the federal government.  The damage is now evident in the denial from positions of responsibility and removal from the agency by illegal means of about 7,000 older, experienced auditors long before the appropriate time of their departure from the federal service. And these persons, now missing from the scene, as a group, represented a cadre of experts who have knowledge of the language, the nomenclature, and the intricacies of the federal system; of governmental policies, programs, organizations, and operations; and of accounting, investigation, and controls necessary to assure the effectiveness of the government in fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities and obligations to the American people.

4. That loss, of the corporate and governmental knowledge and expertise of these experienced auditors/analysts, is now evident in the hue and cry by the public for “accountability” in government and in major financial and other institutions regulated by the government. Examples are now rife with the failures of federal and quasi-governmental institutions who reasonably could have been the subject of audit and accountability by these persons who now are long gone from the federal service or are currently denied positions of responsibility within the agency. Overt examples include the banking and financial crisis; the sub-prime mortgage meltdown; and the efficacy of institutions such as Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac; the Federal Reserve System, especially with respect to its role in the bailouts of AIG and large banks; and SEC and its failure to detect the Madoff situation. This constitutes but a brief list serving as an indicia of a more general failure to investigate and control by a truly effective GAO.

5. What else could be expected, when 7,000 older professionals at the agency, virtually all of GAO’s front line senior accountability auditors/analysts, are intentionally humiliated, called old men and women, and removed from meaningful roles and duties which are then provided to those less experienced, less knowledgeable, and frequently inept young persons? The effect of this particular age discrimination at this agency is clearly far reaching, although virtually impossible to measure and foresee in final result.

6. The resulting degradation of the agency has recently been subject to public hearings, and adverse public comment by Congress. Congress has reacted with statutory reversals of a part of the pattern of discriminatory conduct alleged herein, and also enacted the GAO Act of 2008 to remediate some of the effects of the most apparent, and egregious, pay and personnel decisions taken by GAO senior management in 2005. Simultaneously, the Comptroller General who initiated such pay and personnel decisions resigned in March 2008, ending the 25-year domination of Arthur Andersen alumni at the helm of the agency. Unfortunately, it does not appear that the resignation of the Comptroller General has ended the ill-management of this vital agency, as the pattern of age discrimination is still widespread throughout the agency.

Pay-for-Performance: The 110th & 111th Congress - Hearings & Legislation, CONGRESS & LAW blogspot.com - January 30 & 31, 2010
110th Hearings: Committees in both congressional chambers continued to hold hearings on performance-based-pay systems, with a focus on NSPS. Some common themes throughout the hearings were DOD employees’ mistrust of the system and concerns over how much time the agency would need to fully implement NSPS…
110th Legislation: On January 28, 2008, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 was enacted (P.L. 110-181). The statute modified certain elements of NSPS, requiring DOD to award every NSPS employee who received a satisfactory rating at least 60% of the pay increase given to GS employees…

111th Hearings: On April 1, 2009, the House Committee on Armed Services held a hearing to discuss the future of NSPS.
111th Legislation: Both the House and Senate included language to eliminate NSPS in their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (H.R. 2647, introduced on June 2, 2009; S. 1390, introduced on July 2, 2009). The defense authorization act’s conference report (H.R. 2647, H.Rept. 111-288), in Section 1113, also included these provisions. Pursuant to the legislation, NSPS will be eliminated by 2012, and DOD would begin removing employees from the pay system six months after the October 28, 2009, enactment of the bill. DOD employees currently in NSPS will be returned to the GS or to whichever pay scale they were on prior to their transition into NSPS. Moreover, the bill required DOD to ensure that no employee’s pay would be reduced as a result of the elimination of NSPS. The bill also afforded the Secretary of Defense the authority to establish a “Department of Defense Civilian Workforce Incentive Fund,” from which agency officials could provide additional pay incentives to individual employees or employee teams “for purposes of the employment and retention as employees of qualified individuals with particular competencies or qualifications.”
On October 7, 2009, House and Senate conferees reported a version of the National Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2010 that included language to terminate NSPS. On October 8, 2009, the House agreed to the conference report. The Senate agreed to the conference report on October 22, 2009. On October 28, 2009, the President signed the bill into law.

Dallas FED Official: Keep Fed policy out of GAO’s hands, By AARON LONDON, Staff Writer, Dayton Beach News Journal Online - January 30, 2010
Richard W. Fisher, president and chief executive officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, in a speech at the annual meeting of the Waco Business League said it is up to Congress to bring the nation back to fiscal sanity “and I pray its members will find the resolve and the support from their constituents to get it done.” While that is something Congress should be doing, Fisher said efforts to require audits by the General Accountability Office of Fed monetary policy decisions are not something he wants to see.

“I suppose another set of eyes might provide further confidence regarding our holdings,” he said. “But making the discussions held by me and my colleagues at the FOMC subject to congressional second-guessing or creating a process where bank presidents and their politically independent boards have to worry about satisfying Washington powers rather than representing their districts’ views . . . can only lead us straight to the fate that was suffered by once great economies like pre-Weimar Germany and pre-Peron Argentina.”

Fisher said he did not hold the Fed blameless for the financial crisis, reiterating his long-held position that interest rates have been too low for too long, fueling speculative activity. “This does not mean that those who dwell in the political realm should try to fix the problem by throwing themselves into the monetary mix,” he said. “We should not now politicize an institution that, in the turbulence of this period, pulled our economy back from the brink of the abyss and has taken significant steps to repair the holes in its regulatory and supervisory apparatus.”

In a blunt and direct assessment of what could happen if Fed monetary policy decisions are subject to GAO review, Fisher said the consequences could be serious. “It will indeed lead us down the path to the politicization of the central bank of the world’s greatest economy, putting the United States on a road that leads directly to financial ruin,” he said.

This full text of Fisher’s remarks are at Risks to Sustained Economic Recovery (With Lessons Learned from Winston Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt Remarks before the Annual Meeting of the Waco Business League; Waco, Texas - January 12, 2010

GAO ANALYSTS NEWS CENTER: 1/29/10 Special Union News - January 29, 2010
Union and Management Plan to Go to Personnel Appeals Board (PAB) to Resolve Performance-Based Compensation (PBC) Pay

The GAO Union and GAO management have not reached agreement on Performance Based Compensation (PBC) pay, so as a result, both parties will ask the Personnel Appeals Board (PAB) to help resolve the disagreement. We believe that management did not provide an adequate PBC level that recognizes the extraordinary contributions of GAO Analysts and staff, and which is within GAO’s available budget. The Union Assembly unanimously voted to go to the PAB in order to seek a fairer PBC and to preserve the ability of current and future GAO analysts to have a relevant, independent voice. While this process could take some time, when PBC is determined, it will be paid retroactively to January 3, 2010.

The difference between management’s standing offer of a 2.2% PBC budget factor and those of the past two years is significant. But more importantly, management has not been willing to work with GAO employees to reach a fair agreement. In December, management proposed going to the PAB, but the Union instead suggested mediation as a possible solution, to which management agreed. During mediation, which was held on January 26 and 27, management refused to move from their prior position, even though the Union negotiating team demonstrated a willingness to negotiate our position further and come to an agreement.

* GAO management assured the Union that their refusal to further negotiate PBC is not due to budgetary reasons. GAO management has stated that, in addition, it could also increase pay to non-analyst staff as a result of further negotiations with the GAO Union—which we support.
* GAO management proposed a higher level of performance pay for 2010 than last year to the Congress. Budget documents that GAO provided to our appropriations committees showed that GAO intended to spend more money on PBC merit-based increases in FY 2010 than in FY 2009.
* The Union negotiating team continues to highlight the extraordinary performance of GAO employees during FY 2009 as a basis for determining the appropriate PBC budget factor. In addition to noting that GAO met or exceeded our agency-wide performance measures, we have stressed the contributions of the many GAO employees who were involved in unprecedented and extremely demanding oversight efforts of ARRA and TARP, and other employees who continued to carry out the high profile and challenging “regular” workload of the agency.
* GAO management stated that negotiations were at an impasse on December 22, 2009, and then set PBC pay the for non-analyst GAO staff. Management’s action to determine PBC pay for non-analyst GAO staff just after pay negotiations began is, in our opinion, not in the spirit of working collaboratively with employees.

GAO management has argued that higher PBC performance pay is not appropriate in these dire economic times. However, the portion of pay reflecting the economy — the across-the-board pay adjustment — has already been negotiated and ratified for FY 2010. This across-the-board pay adjustment agreed with the President and Congress’ assessment of an appropriate annual adjustment that is substantially lower than prior years, and reflected all economic factors.

The next step is to go to the Personnel Appeals Board (PAB), which has a multi-step process for resolving such issues, which may include arbitration. The Union negotiating team and the Union Assembly would have preferred to have come to a negotiated agreement with Management as we have done in past years, but we are confident that we can provide a compelling case to the PAB.

How Wall Street Destroyed Health Care: Greed, Be Thou My God, By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS, www.counterpunch.org - Weekend Edition, January 22 - 24, 2010

Chairman Towns, Cummings Request GAO Investigation of AIG’s Federal Financial Assistance, House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform - Jan. 21, 2010
Washington, DC – Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) and U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) today requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) launch a broad investigation into the Federal financial assistance provided to American International Group (AIG).  Chairman Towns and Rep. Cummings made the request in a letter to the GAO Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.  See Jan 19 post: Bernanke welcomes review by GAO of the Fed’s extension of credit to AIG.

Letter from Chairman Towns and Rep. Cummings to Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro

David Walker explains our “dysfunctional democracy” with Tom Temin and Jane Norris, Federal News Radio - January 21, 2010
Now that he’s the former Comptroller General of the United States, David M. Walker, private citizen, is free to speak his mind - and he’s not holding back. “We have to reform how government does business, operationally, and we need political reforms because we have a dysfunctional democracy.” Federal News Radio caught up with Walker promoting his new book, “Comeback America”, and asked what he means by “dysfunctional democracy” (mp3 of Walker interview).

Walker explained said that congressional districts have been redrawn to the point that, in his estimation, only about 60 out of 435 seats in the House of Representatives are “competitive.” Elections, he said, are therefore decided in the primary elections when the most active members of each party are the most extreme. The result, he said, is a stalemate.

Everything’s an ideological battle. And politics is the art of compromise. It’s one thing to have a stalemate when things go well, but when things are not going well, and they’re getting worse with the passage of time, it’s a disaster and that’s where we are.

Fed defends actions in AIG case, invites inquiry (Reuters) - January 19. 2010
Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday launched a vigorous defense of their dealings with American International Group, calling for a Congressional audit and denying any inappropriate action with respect to payments the bailed-out insurer made to banks. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke invited a full Congressional [GAO] audit of the U.S. central bank’s dealings with AIG and the New York Fed turned over 250,000 pages of documents to a House committee that has scheduled a hearing on the matter next week.

The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee is investigating whether the New York Fed improperly limited public disclosures about payments to banks to unwind $62.1 billion in AIG credit default swaps. In a lengthy memo posted on its website, the New York Fed contested a number of basic points that had been reported earlier after a batch of emails was released by a lawmaker that appeared to show the New York Fed counseled AIG not to reveal it was paying banks 100 cents on the dollar on credit default swaps it had written.

Bernanke: Go All Out in AIG Inquiry By Eric Rosenbaum, The Street - 01/19/10
WASHINGTON D.C. (TheStreet) — U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday said that the federal government should proceed full-throttle with its inquiry into the communications between the Federal Reserve and AIG. In a letter written to Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Bernanke wrote, “To afford the public the most complete possible understanding of our decisions and actions in this matter, and to provide a comprehensive response to questions that have been raised by members of Congress, the Federal Reserve would welcome a full review by GAO of all aspects of our involvement in the extension of credit to AIG.”

Bernanke also reiterated in the letter to the GAO chief how dire the threat to the U.S. and global economy would have been if AIG was not rescued by the federal government. Bernanke was not averse to using the letter as a spin opportunity for the administration. In addition to offering full cooperation of the Fed, Bernanke noted that the cooperation will help the U.S. public to understand how the federal government made the right decision in the bailout of AIG.

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2009 (H.R. 2646) passed by House of Representatives - January 13, 2010

Links to House floor action (H65-66 with excerpts below) and House Oversight Committee Report on the bill (HOUSE REPT 111-387) and the Committee Press Release on the House passage of the bill.

Mr. LYNCH…of Massachusetts: Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2646, the Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2009. This legislation, introduced by the chairman of the Oversight Committee, Representative Ed Towns of Brooklyn, will increase the effectiveness of the GAO by clarifying and strengthening the GAO’s authority in several critical areas, including its access to records.

Congress relies heavily on the GAO as a force multiplier in carrying out the investigative and oversight functions vested in the legislative branch. The GAO helps inform the Congress and executive agencies and the public about areas and programs within the Federal Government that are performing well and those that need to be improved or are vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse. General Accounting Office audits provide reliable assessments as to whether the taxpayers are receiving full value from important government programs. This legislation is necessary to ensure that GAO can successfully carry out all of these important functions for the Congress.

Specifically, the GAO Improvement Act addresses a 2002 Federal court decision that limited the GAO’s ability to question agency access determinations in court. The bill explicitly provides the Comptroller General with standing to pursue litigation if the Comptroller General determines that the performance of her official duties has been harmed by an agency improperly withholding information.

The bill also clarifies the GAO’s access to information in two important areas. First, it confirms the GAO’s right to make and retain copies of records, which has been denied by Federal agencies in some cases. And it provides the GAO with the right to interview agency officers and employees. The bill also says that the GAO’s access to agency information should be limited only if an act passed by the Congress expressly and specifically extends to limit such access. Additionally, the bill clarifies GAO’s authority to administer oaths, an important tool in conducting audits and taking statements. Lastly, it provides agencies more flexibility in reporting to Congress in their responses to GAO recommendations. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reported H.R. 2646 favorably on a voice vote on June 4, 2009.

At the committee markup, a bipartisan amendment was added to the bill that would have allowed the GAO to conduct reviews of certain actions taken by the Federal Reserve that previously have been exempt from GAO review. However, similar language was included in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which passed the House before the holiday recess. Therefore, the legislation that we are considering today is the bill introduced by Representative Towns on June 4 and is without the committee’s amendment related to the Federal Reserve.

Madam Speaker, the Congress and the American people need the GAO to help us remain informed about what’s being done well and what needs to be improved within the Federal Government. The GAO can only do this effectively if it has access to all the information it needs. This bill strengthens the GAO in this manner. It is an important good-government initiative that will improve the effectiveness of government operations. I urge all Members to support the legislation …

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2646. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

GAO and applicable authorizing committees to be provided “agency 60-day letters” that respond to the recommendations in GAO reports: 
Sec. 4. Agency reports amends section 720 of title 31 to allow an agency more flexibility in reporting to Congress on its response to a GAO recommendation. Currently, agencies must report two months after issuance of a GAO report on ‘‘action taken.’’ H.R. 2646 recognizes that agencies must decide on a course of action before implementing it, and therefore, requires agencies to report within two months on actions planned or taken in response to a GAO recommendation. The section also expands the list of recipients of the agency reports to include GAO and the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agency program or activity that is the subject of the recommendation.

BOOK REVIEW: David Walker, Who Reorganized the GAO, Offers Suggestions for Fixing Nation’s Fiscal, Political Mess in ‘Comeback America’ Reviewed By David M. Kinchen, Huntingtonnews.net Book Critic - Janauary 13, 2010
According to Kinchen:

Walker’s “Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility” (Random House, 240 pages, NO INDEX!, $26.00) is difficult to top. Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, was comptroller general of the U.S. from 1998 to 2008 and CEO of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) during the same period. He describes how he led the reorganization of the GAO, which changed its name from its original designation of General Accounting Office during his watch — in 2004, to be precise — keeping its well known initials, but redefining its goals. (emphasis added by GAOUnion.net)

At the GAO — as he describes its reorganization on pages 170 to 179 — Walker instituted reforms and created what business calls a mission statement. Walker focused on three words to redefine the agency: Accountability, Integrity, Reliability. This reminds me of another brand dating from about the same era as the GAO –the FBI — which uses Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity as part of its branding.

The reorganization of the GAO wasn’t without controversy: ” On September 19, 2007,” according to Wikipedia, “GAO analysts voted by a margin of two to one (897–445), in a 75% turnout, to establish the first union in GAO’s 86-year history. The analysts voted to affiliate with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a member union of the AFL-CIO. There are more than 1,800 analysts in the GAO analysts bargaining unit; the local voted to name itself IFPTE Local 1921, in honor of the date of GAO’s establishment. On February 14, 2008, the GAO analysts’ union approved its first-ever negotiated pay contract with management; of just over 1,200 votes, 98 percent were in favor of the contract.”…

A new labor alliance, with notable absences By Joe Davidson, W/Post Federal Diary - January 13, 2010
Federal labor leaders say they need a strong, unified voice now because they expect the Obama Administration to soon propose changes in the way federal employees are managed, perhaps when the White House sends its budget to Congress in February. With that in mind, 21 labor organizations–including IFPTE–that collectively represent 300,000 federal workers have joined forces in a new Federal Workers Alliance. Noticeably absent from the list are the two largest federal unions, the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union. Their absence has a subplot linked to intensifying competition over airport security screeners, a major contingent both groups want to organize.

“Federal unions understand that the current administration is poised to propose some fairly broad, sweeping government-wide changes in the not too distant future,” said interim Chairman William R. Dougan, who also is president of the National Federation of Federal Employees. “I am confident that the labor organizations of the FWA will work together to ensure the strongest possible voice for federal workers with the Obama administration and Congress … The handwriting is on the wall,” Dougan said. “There obviously are going to be some significant government-wide changes.” The Alliance “allows us to speak from a position of strength . . . and that’s a very powerful thing.”

GAO ANALYSTS NEWS CENTER 1/11/10 Union News
Union Members Ratify Across-the-Board Pay Increase; 2010 PBC Negotiations to Resume on January 20
The Union and GAO bargaining teams held sessions last week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to continue discussions over the 2010 performance-based compensation (PBC) and related components of this year’s pay raise. The PBC is the portion of the 2010 pay raise that is directly linked to employees’ performance ratings for the 2009 rating year. Agreement has not yet been reached on the amount of pay the agency will provide for the performance that employees have demonstrated in the past year. Here is some context for prior years’ across-the board raises, PBC percentage budget factors, as well as the increase in GAO’s appropriation for that year:

FY 2005 – 2010 Budget Increase and Pay Increases for D.C.-based Staff

GAO management informed non-bargaining unit employees on Friday, January 8, that they would receive a 2.2 percent PBC for 2010. This amount is not consistent with the PBC that GAO employees have received in the last two years since the Union began negotiating pay increases, or with previous years’ increases relative to GAO’s annual budget increases. Considering the outstanding performance GAO employees have demonstrated in the past year, especially through their nimble work on unique oversight issues, we believe that greater recognition of employees’ performance is warranted. To inform these negotiations, the Union requested additional information from GAO management regarding the resources involved in the performance rating process for employees in the bargaining unit as well as their involvement in the significant oversight work that’s been conducted for the U.S. Congress in the past year. Though the Union specifically requested that the parties remain at the table, GAO management informed us it needs time to gather the information requested and some additional time for analysis, GAO management informed us that the negotiations will not resume until January 20.

The Union and GAO management have agreed that any agreement on PBC pay will be retroactive to the first pay period of 2010.

**The “overall average pay increase” is the increase in pay that a D.C.-based analyst or specialist would get whose salary is at the competitive rate of the band and who received an average rating for his or her band within his or her Team. The actual pay increase analysts receive would vary based on their location, salary, and rating.

Hundreds of Rules May Be Void after Agencies Miss Procedural Step, OMBWatch.org - January 12, 2010

Regulatory agencies are routinely violating federal law by not submitting final regulations to both houses of Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as required by law, according to a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. Any rule agencies have not submitted to Congress and GAO could be susceptible to a lawsuit. According to CRS, in FY 2008, 28 federal agencies and cabinet departments failed to send copies of 101 final rules to the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress. As of Oct. 26, 2009, 96 of the 101 rules still had not been submitted, raising questions about their legality…

The CRS report, Congressional Review Act: Rules Not Submitted to GAO and Congress, was written by specialist Curtis W. Copeland and published on Dec. 29, 2009. A copy of the report obtained by OMB Watch (with an incomplete appendix) is available at www.ombwatch.org/files/regs/PDFs/CRS122909.pdf.

Vows of bipartisanship give way to rancor on House oversight panel, By Elizabeth Newell Govexec.com - January 8, 2010

Less than six months after pledging to reverse the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s history of rancorous partisanship, the relationship between the chairman, Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., and ranking member Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has become contentious (photo shows Issa on left, Towns on right).

Ccommittee Republicans issued a letter on January 10, 2010 saying they supported Issa in his demands to hold committee hearings to investigate the security failings that led to the attempted terrorist attack on Dec. 25. The Republicans accused Towns of creating suspicion that the administration will “escape serious oversight and accountability” because of party loyalty.  Rest of story at link.

According to informed sources, GAO staff voted overwhelmingly in favor of accepting the 2010 across-the-board cost-of-living adjustment equivalent to those provided to Executive Branch employees paid under the General Schedule (2010 GS Locality Increases by GAO Office Location).

Performance-Based-Compensation (PBC) negotiations between the union and GAO management continue, although GAO management implemented a 2.2% PBC budget factor for GAO staff not in the bargaining unit (i.e., Band III analysts, Attorneys, and APSS (non-analyst) staff).  This PBC pot of funds will be divvied among employees based upon their ratings according to a standardized rating scale (SRS) formula that places GAO teammates in direct competition with each other for the available PBC funds.  See immediately below for the text of the GAO management email sent to each non-bargaining unit employee.

Text of GAO Management email to employees not in the bargaining unit

As we enter the New Year, the GAO Executive Committee wants to update you on GAO’s FY 2010 pay adjustment-which includes an annual adjustment and performance-based compensation (PBC). The adjustment reflects the GS across-the-board increase of 1.5% plus the locality factor by GAO field office and headquarters and a PBC rate of 2.2%–representing an average increase of 4.62% in the Washington DC area. As always, GAO remains committed to the principle of equity in the FY 2010 pay adjustment for all employees.

All employees will receive the annual adjustment effective January 3, 2010. Additionally, all Band III Analysts, Attorneys, and APSS staff not in a developmental program will receive the PBC rate effective January 3, 2010. The PBC budget factor of 2.2% is used in conjunction with an employees rating relative to their performance group to calculate pay. Not all employees will receive 2.2 percent - some will receive more and some less depending on individual performance. Negotiations are ongoing with the GAO Employees Organization, IFPTE, Local 1921, on the PBC rate for bargaining unit employees.

The Executive Committee believes that an average 4.62% increase represents a very fair approach to compensation that appropriately rewards the significant contributions of GAO employees during a time of serious economic conditions in the country. Further adjustments, if any, to the PBC budget factor as a result of the negotiations process will be calculated and paid retroactively to January 3, 2010 for Band III Analysts, Attorneys, and APSS staff. (emphasis added)

David M. Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former Comptroller General of the U.S., is the author of a new book, “Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility.”  For more about the book, go to comebackamericathebook.com.

Walker spoke about his new book at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC.

Gildenhorn Book Series with David M. Walker: Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility
* Date: Thursday, January 28, 2010 - 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
* Location: Washington, DC TBD
* Moderator: Walter Isaacson
* Contact: Rachel Sommers 202.736.2299

David M. Walker, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, discusses his new book, Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility (Random House). He’s one of America’s most capable, canny, candid, and independent financial experts. Now David M. Walker sounds a call to action. Comeback America is a tough-minded, innovative, inspiring guide to help us avoid the approaching economic abyss and put the country back on track again.

As Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—”the nation’s top auditor”—Walker warned Congress and the administration as the federal surplus became a giant deficit under George W. Bush. As President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, he now works full-time to raise public awareness regarding mounting debt burdens being imposed on future generations. Comeback America is his crucial manifesto, a way for President Obama to end out-of-control government spending and reform our tax, retirement, health care, defense, and other systems—before it’s too late.

A controversial Post partnership with the Fiscal Times By Andrew Alexander, W/Post Ombudsman - Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Post’s integrity has been attacked by policy experts who claim it took special-interest “propaganda” and passed it off as a news story in its December 31, 2009 story that said momentum was building for a plan to name a special bipartisan commission to address the nation’s debt. The story was written by two veteran Washington journalists who work for a start-up digital news organization called the Fiscal Times, the first from Fiscal Times to appear in The Post under a new partnership. In protests to The Post, a group of policy experts and academics opposed to the commission idea noted that the Fiscal Times was created and funded by billionaire Peter G. Peterson, a former Nixon Commerce Secretary and Wall Street investment banker who for decades has publicly called for reducing federal deficits and controlling the cost of entitlement programs. Peterson, they said, “has engaged in a decades-long effort to have changes to Social Security considered under a fast-track commission which shields members of Congress from political accountability.”  In February 2008, Peterson established a foundation—for $1 billion of the $1.9 billion he made from the 2007 sale of part of his interest in the Blackstone Group hedge fund—to call attention to the deficit issue, and Comptroller General David Walker resigned from his post as head of GAO after serving 9 years and 5 months of his 15-year term to head up Peterson’s new foundation.

The Post Ombudsman notes “the story had serious deficiencies.”

A footnote said only that Fiscal Times is “an independent digital news publication reporting on fiscal, budgetary, health-care and international economics issues.” But it should have disclosed that it was created and funded by Peterson and noted his interest in the issues. The story quoted the head of the Concord Coalition, “a nonpartisan group that advocates entitlement reform and balanced budgets.” It failed to divulge that the group receives funding from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The Post later noted this in a Jan. 5 correction. Actually, it was Post editors who had urged Fiscal Times to include the Concord Coalition. During the editing process, Schneider [Greg Schneider, The Post’s national economy and business editor] said, “we suggested that they go to someone like the Concord Coalition . . . to get a quote that helped frame the story.” The story also cited data from a study by the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform, again failing to note that it was the same Peterson who is behind the Fiscal Times. The timing of the story was problematic, coming weeks before the Senate may consider the commission idea. The Fiscal Times plans to cover a spectrum of issues, but having its first story focused on one so closely tied to Peterson was inviting suspicion about its motives. Finally, the story also was not sufficiently balanced with the views of those opposed to a fast-track commission.

U.S. Reps who are also CPAs call for Comptroller General to be a CPA too Accountingweb, Posted by gailperry - 01/08/2010
A bipartisan effort has resulted in legislation that could require the next comptroller general to be a CPA. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, introduced the legislation calling for the head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to be a CPA with significant experience in government, auditing, and accounting, according to the Federal Times.

Peterson and Conaway are both CPAs. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) supports the move and applauded Peterson and Conaway for their foresight in introducing the legislation on a bipartisan basis.

“Taxpayers are rightly demanding ever-increasing accountability and transparency from the U.S. government,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon. “It is essential that the comptroller general have the education, skills, background, training, and discipline of a CPA.”

The comptroller general serves a 15-year term. According to the AICPA, the comptroller general position has been vacant since March 2008 when former Comptroller General David Walker, who is a CPA, resigned to become president of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The previous comptroller general, Charles Bowsher, also is a CPA. Bowsher was appointed in 1981 and served a full term of 15 years. To ensure the position’s independence from political influence, the comptroller general cannot be recalled from office except by act of Congress.

The acting comptroller general is Gene Dodaro, who is not a CPA but he has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Williamsport, Pennsylvania’s Lycoming College. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the Association of Government Accountants.

The GAO states that its mission is to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.

See Jan. 4 GAOUnion.org post - The CPA General: H.R. 4410 would require the Comptroller General be a CPA and Dec. 28 GAOUnion.org post AICPA SUPPORTS LEGISLATION REQUIRING U.S. COMPTROLLER GENERAL TO BE A CPA,  AICPA Press Release below.

Former US Comptroller David M. Walker Lecture
By jennifer on December 28th, 2009

The National Center for Public Analysis will be hosting a luncheon and lecture featuring the former US Comptroller, David M. Walker. The lecture is part of the Hatton W. Sumner Distinguished Lecture Series - a popular series dedicated to providing “nationally and internationally renowned speakers and free-market economists a forum to present important issues to business leaders, college students and the general public.”

A little background on Walker: From 1998 to 2008 he was the Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). During his tenure at the GAO he was an outspoken leader and advocate for the Fiscal Wake Up Tour. Walker spoke to the American people and press about wasteful government spending - from nationwide “town-hall style” forums to The Colbert Report (see video below). He was recruited in 2008 to head the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a foundation that “addresses fiscal sustainability issues related to federal deficits, entitlement programs and tax policies.” David Walker is also the author of Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility.

Friday January 29, 2010 from 12:00pm - 1:15pm

The Pavilion at Belo Mansion
2101 Ross Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75201

Tickets are $75 ($65 for NCPA sponsors) and you can register online: https://secure.ncpa.org/events/?Event_ID=137

1/5/10 Special GAO Union News

GAO Union Members to Vote on Proposal for Across-the-Board Raises: Union members will have the opportunity to vote whether to accept the 2010 across-the-board cost-of-living adjustments equivalent to raises for Executive Branch employees paid under the General Schedule. Online ballots were distributed to union members on Wednesday and voting will remain open until Sunday, January 10, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

PBC negotiations continue; GAO management implements 2.2% PBC for non-bargaining unit employees: Although PBC negotiations are continuing between the GAO Union and management, GAO management was expected to inform non-bargaining unit employees that they would receive a 2.2 percent PBC for 2010 in addition to the same annual adjustment negotiated by the Union. The 2.2 percent performance-based raise would be for average performance, with some receiving less and some receiving more based on a formula known as SRS, or Standardized Rating Score.

The Union believes the PBC amount provided to non-bargaining unit employees does not fully reflect the level of performance achieved by GAO analysts and specialists in the past year. This amount is not consistent with the PBC that GAO employees have received in the recent past, nor is it consistent with raises provided within other parts of the federal government. Considering the outstanding performance GAO employees have demonstrated in the past year, especially through their work on TARP and ARRA—or through filling in for employees diverted to TARP and ARRA work—we believe that greater recognition of employees’ performance is warranted.

The Union also continues to support the alternative SRS formula, which was ratified by the membership last year and leads to less variation in pay raises than the original SRS still in place for non-bargaining unit employees. The findings of GAO’s Performance Appraisal Study, which was released in November, further confirms the Union’s reservations about the original SRS formula and affirms the decision to use the alternative SRS as a more equitable process for distributing merit-based raises. The PAS study raised a number of challenges associated with measuring individual employee contributions to GAO’s mission, and the alternative SRS helps to mitigate these inequities when calculating pay raises.

The Union and GAO management have agreed that any agreement on PBC pay will be retroactive. We will keep you informed of developments in the negotiation process as they unfold.

The CPA General By Bill Carlino, Editor-in-Chief, Accounting Today @ webCPA.com - January 4, 2010
Mr. Carlino reports that a bill was recently introduced in the House that would require the Comptroller General to be a CPA. The bill, H.R. 4410, was introduced on December 19, 2009 by Rep. Collin Peterson, D-MN for himself and Rep. Mike Conaway, R-TX.   Specifically, the bill provides that

an individual shall be eligible to be recommended by the congressional selection commission to fill a vacancy in the office of Comptroller General if the individual– (A) is licensed or certified as a certified public accountant in a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States; (B) has significant management experience, including experience in Government service; (C) has significant Government auditing and accounting experience; (D) has a post-graduate degree; (E) has a professional accreditation issued by a professional association; and (F) has such other qualifications as the [selection] commission … may establish.”

Mr. Carlino, presumably a CPA, then notes:

“To be honest, I always thought that the Comptroller General had to be a CPA, like the past two people to hold that post, David Walker, who stepped down in 2008, and Charles Bowsher, who preceded him and served a full 15 years. The position has been vacant since Walker’s departure in 2008 and the acting CG has an accounting degree, but is not a CPA…. Since the mission statement of the “Investigative Arm of Congress,” is to more or less serve as a federal watchdog to help improve the accountability of the government, it’s probably fair to surmise that some familiarity with accounting methods and standards would probably be helpful. My hope is that whoever is named to the post permanently know more about accounting than, say, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano knows about, well, homeland security. With debates over health care and climate control raging on Capitol Hill this is one piece of legislation that should receive overwhelming partisan support.”

Mr. Carlino may have inadvertently demonstrated through his story (especially with his remark about the qualifications of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano) that political savvy and tack—not a CPA credential—is the sine qua non for being an effective Comptroller General of the United States.

GAOUnion.org believes that GAO historians would likely rank Comptrollers General Lindsay Warren (11/1950- 4/1954), a lawyer and former member of Congress, and Elmer Staats (3/1966- 3/1981), a public administrator/deputy director of BOB (now OMB) under four Presidents with a PhD in political economy, at or near the top of any list of the most effective Comptrollers General in GAO history.

Moreover, H.R. 4410 would have ruled out two of the three Comptrollers General with CPAs—Joe Campbell (12/1954-7/1965) and David Walker (11/1998- 3/2008)—from being appointed, since neither possessed a post graduate degree, leaving only Charles Bowsher (10/1981-9/1996), who possessed both a CPA and an MBA.

Critics question Post partnership by Mike Allen - January 2, 2010
Fourteen academic and public-policy experts on Social Security are calling on The Washington Post to stop printing news articles from The Fiscal Times, a new “independent digital news publication” funded by Peter G. Peterson.  Peterson is the former Nixon Secretary of Commerce and Wall Street financier who started a foundation—run by former Comptroller General David Walker—to “increase public awareness of the nature and urgency of key economic challenges threatening America’s future and accelerate action on them.”

The 14 critics said the newspaper should rescind its partnership with the Fiscal Times, “reserve opinion pieces for the op-ed page, and not allow itself to be a propaganda arm for ideologues who use fiscal distress as a stalking horse to destroy social insurance.”  Peterson was quoted as saying: “The Fiscal Times is a new entity whose time has come, an independently supported publication comprised of top journalists and opinion makers covering the critical economic issues of our time.”

OPM Pay Table for 2010  Employees in the “DC-locality” (i.e., Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia-West Virginia-Pennsylvania) will receive a 2.42 percent across-the-board increase in CY 2010.

Obama issues order for 2% raise in 2010 By REBECCA NEAL, Federal Times | Last Updated: December 24, 2009
Obama issues order implementing 2010 pay raise By Kellie Lunney Govexec.com - December 23, 2009
President Barack Obama signed an executive order order Dec. 23 granting federal civilian employees a 2.0 percent raise and military members a 3.4 percent raise beginning in January (see earlier stories).

AICPA SUPPORTS LEGISLATION REQUIRING U.S. COMPTROLLER GENERAL
TO BE A CPA,  AICPA Press Release - December 28, 2009

Benefits Breakthroughs By Alyssa Rosenberg Govexec.com - December 24, 2009
Changes in a wide range of federal pay and benefits areas during 2009 were the product of pent-up energy and proposals in Congress, and a shift in approach with the arrival of a new administration. But passing bills and announcing new policies, regulations and priorities, is just the beginning. Next year will bring significant implementation challenges, and continued legislative fights over issues such as extending health and retirement benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian federal employees. Changing policies that affect 1.9 million federal employees and passing reforms to keep them productive and motivated is not something that can be accomplished in one year.