Senate Committee Joins House in Approving Expanded Telecommuting

By Stephen Barr
Friday, November 16, 2007; D04
Washington Post


A Senate committee this week approved a bill that would make it possible for more federal employees to become telecommuters, acting a week after supporters of at-home work introduced similar legislation in the House.

The bills would encourage agencies to allow eligible employees to telecommute four days a month, on average.

The chief sponsors in the Senate, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), said that expanded telecommuting in the government would get cars off the road, reducing energy costs and cutting pollution. About 6.6 percent of federal employees are regular telecommuters, according to data collected in 2005.

Under the bill, the determination of who may telecommute would be left to agencies, which would have to tell employees whether they were eligible to work at home or at a remote site.

Agencies would appoint telework management officers, draw up telecommuting policies and provide training to employees and managers, according to the bill. Each agency would "ensure that telework does not diminish employee performance or agency operations," the bill said.

Sens. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) are co-sponsors for the Stevens-Landrieu bill, which was approved Wednesday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Reps. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) and John P. Sarbanes (D-Md.) are chief sponsors of the House version.

Senators to Push for IG Bill

A bipartisan group of senators plan to push for a vote before the end of the year on legislation that would strengthen inspectors general.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on a voice vote Wednesday, approved a bill that would require inspectors general to have expertise in certain fields, such as auditing, law and management, and to post their audits and investigative reports on their agency Web sites within three days of their release.

The bill also would set the pay of inspectors general at 3 percent above Level III of the Executive Schedule, which sets salaries for the most senior positions in the government and is adjusted annually. Currently, Level III appointees make $154,600 a year.

Chief sponsors of the bill are Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). McCaskill said she was optimistic "that we will be able to get this legislation through Congress quickly and in a truly bipartisan fashion. Our tax dollars are at stake if we don't."

Similar legislation, introduced by Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), was approved by the House, 404 to 11, on Oct. 3.

Democrats, in particular, have expressed concern that some inspectors general, who are supposed to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse in their agencies, are too wary of crossing their agency heads.

In recent months, questions have been raised about the actions and work of inspectors general at the State and Commerce departments, NASA, the Smithsonian Institution and the Legal Services Corporation. Democrats have cited the controversies as a reason to update the 1978 law that authorizes inspectors general.

Stamps Linked to Inflation

The postal board of governors announced yesterday that future increases in postage rates will be capped at the rate of inflation.

Congress changed the rules for raising the price of stamps last year, but said the U.S. Postal Service could file one last rate case under a 1971 law if it wished. That system for setting mail prices has been faulted as costly and time-consuming.

The Postal Regulatory Commission recently completed new rules for setting mail prices, and Postmaster General John E. Potter yesterday thanked the commission for completing the rules eight months ahead of schedule.

Analysts believe the new rules will make for more predictable rate increases, and that will allow companies that are heavy users of mail to more easily plan their budgets.

Talk Shows

John Salamone, executive director of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, will be the guest on "FEDtalk" at 11 a.m. today on http://federalnewsradio.com and WFED radio (1050 AM).

Danny Werfel, acting controller of the office of federal financial management at the Office of Management and Budget, will be the guest on the IBM "Business of Government Hour" at 9 a.m. Saturday on WJFK radio (106.7 FM).