Top Stories

House Set To Consider Sunset Commission Bills  On Thursday, the House is expected to consider NTEU-opposed bills that would establish a commission to study the effectiveness of federal programs while bypassing Congress. The measures, H.R. 5766 and H.R. 3282, would create sunset commissions with the the ability to eliminate agencies and lay off employees without meaningful congressional debate. For more information, click here or visit <http://capwiz .com/nteu/issues/alert/? alertid=8927841&type=CO>. Bipartisan Letter Blasts IRS Privatization Plan A bipartisan group of 27 House members wrote to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson last week urging him to halt the agency's plan to turn over tax collection work to private debt collectors. The letter voices concerns about the high cost of the plan and inadequate safeguards in place to protect taxpayer privacy. Visit NTEUirswatch.org for more information on the ill-advised initiative.

Senate Committee Bill Provides Double Win For Feds
Thursday's markup of the Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill by a Senate committee offered two pieces of good news for federal employees: a 2.7 percent pay raise next year and favorable contracting out language.

The pay increase proposed by the Senate Appropriations Committee is a boost from the 2.2 percent the administration called for in its 2007 budget.

Also included in the bill is language NTEU won last year that helps level the playing field for federal workers in public-private job competitions. It requires agencies to allow employees to put forth bids in any competition involving more than 10 employees. The bill also would force contractors to show savings of $10 million or 10 percent and ensure agencies can bring work formerly contracted out back in-house.

The House version of the bill, approved June 14, includes the 2.7 percent raise and contracting out language.

For the complete story, click here or visit <www.nteu.
org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=936>.

NTEU Lends Support to Study of FDA Scientists
NTEU called for adequate protections for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists in the wake of an independent study revealing pervasive political pressure in the workplace.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), less than half of the 1,000 FDA scientists surveyed believe the public is being provided with complete and accurate information. Forty percent of respondents said they feared retaliation for voicing safety concerns in public.

NTEU has negotiated a clause in its FDA contract that provides for the right of professional differences of opinion and protection for employees who disagree with supervisors in the course of their jobs.

The UCS survey also found that two-thirds of FDA scientists believe that the agency has insufficient resources to effectively perform its mission. President Kelley voiced NTEU's commitment to working with FDA to secure the necessary funding and to stop political interference with science in the workplace.

For the complete story, click here or visit <www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/Press
Release.aspx?ID=935>.

President Kelley Urges More Attention For CBP Trade Functions
The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) trade functions need adequate money and manpower, NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley told a House subcommittee today.

In testimony before the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, Kelley underscored the important role of CBP trade personnel both in facilitating U.S. trade and securing the nation’s border. Despite their vital work, she said, CBP has allowed the number of import specialists and eight other trade function occupations to dwindle since the 2001 creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Kelley went on to warn against shifting the responsibilities of import specialists to include physical cargo inspections that CBP Officers perform. Import specialists lack the training and resources to do the job, she said.

In a related matter, President Kelley urged Congress to review the grade level of journeyman in the import specialist function. Although most regularly perform higher-grade work, journeymen have remained at a GS-11 level.

For the complete story, click here or visit <www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/Press
Release.aspx?ID=938>. To learn how you can help boost the ranks of import specialists, click here or visit <http://capwiz.com/nteu/issues/alert/?alertid=8706686>.


IRS Cancels Outsourcing Study of FCO Jobs
In another victory against contracting out, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced last week that it has canceled a competitive sourcing study involving fuel compliance officers (FCO).

NTEU has long maintained that FCOs perform "inherently governmental" work that is prohibited from being contracted out. In 2004 the IRS reclassified the position as "commercial in nature," opening it up to public-private competition despite no substantive changes to job duties. NTEU vigorously challenged the IRS action by raising concerns with members of Congress and the media. (Read an opinion piece on the topic by President Kelley.)

The approximately 140 FCOs are charged with ensuring that the federal government collects the more than $20 billion owed annually in fuel excise taxes.

For the complete story, click here or visit <www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/Press
Release.aspx?ID=931>.

Headlines

IRS to Cut Auditors
New York Times, July 23, 2006
The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others.

The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency’s 345 estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days.

The Bush administration has passed measures that reduce the number of Americans who are subject to the estate tax — which opponents refer to as the “death tax” — but has failed in its efforts to eliminate the tax entirely.

Colleen M. Kelley, the national union president, said: “If these lawyers are not there to audit the gift and estate tax returns, then a lot of taxes that should be paid will go uncollected, and that impacts every taxpayer who is paying their fair share.” 

For the complete story, click here or visit <www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/business/
23tax.html>.

To read NTEU's press release on the issue, click here or visit <www.nteu.org/PressKits/
PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=937>.