Fewer federal employees are leaving TSA since recent pay raises
- The head of the Transportation Security Administration said TSA's recent pay increases are working, with staff turnover decreasing to nearly 9% since last year's historic pay increase. Testifying before members of Congress yesterday, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the agency's Federal Employee Perspective Survey scores are also improving. Last year's pay increases brought TSA's pay into line with many other federal employees. And TSA's 2025 budget request includes $377 million to continue funding regular pay raises and career ladder advancements.
- The top leadership position in the Office of Personnel Management will soon be vacant. Kiran Ahuja will step down as OPM director in early May. Mr. Ahuja has been in office for nearly three years, making him the longest-serving OPM director in nearly a decade. Mr. Ahuja cited ongoing health concerns and a recent death in his family as reasons for his retirement. In the meantime, OPM Deputy Director Rob Schreiber will serve as acting director of the agency.
- The Postal Service has identified problems with punctual delivery in areas where it is implementing network modernization plans. The agency's watchdog said such delays were worst in Richmond, Virginia and Atlanta after the USPS opened large regional facilities to consolidate operations. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said service in those areas should be stable by this summer. DeJoy told lawmakers he remains optimistic about the network changes, which he said are essential to reducing costs. “I apologize to the constituents who were receiving that service. But in the long run, if we don't make these changes, it's going to be the same every day across the country,” DeJoy said.
- The Air Force will soon launch two new projects using the Quick Start Initiative. The service will be able to initiate projects on resilient GPS capabilities and combat management for moving target display through quick start privileges. A quick start provision included in the 2024 Defense Policy Act would allow the service to begin developing new programs before Congress formally provides funding.
- There was broad support for the bill, which aims to eliminate current limits on Social Security benefits for some federal retirees. If the Social Security Fairness Act becomes law, it would abolish the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). However, some opponents of the bill remain concerned. They told House members at yesterday's hearing that the original WEP and GPO policies were intended to ensure fair treatment and maintain equity. They worry that removing WEP and GPO will also create solvency problems for Social Security. Still, the bill's proponents argue that WEP and GPO are unfair to public sector workers. They want the bill passed.
- Air Force officials want a provision in the 2025 Defense Policy Act that would transfer all National Guard space forces to the Space Force. The military wants to bring these units under the Space Force Personnel Management Act. Under this legislation, the Space Force has already transferred 1,000 full-time Air Force Reserve personnel to the Space Force. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said there would be minimal changes to how Air National Guard members perform missions under the potential new structure.
- Veterans give higher trust scores to the health care they receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans' confidence in VA outpatient care is nearly 92%. This data is based on a survey of more than 480,000 veterans who received VA treatment in the past 90 days. Veterans rated the VA on criteria such as ease of scheduling an appointment, quality of care received, and pharmacy services. When the department began tracking these metrics in 2018, veterans gave VA an 85% confidence score.
(Trust in VA among Veteran patients rises to 91.8%, an increase of 6% since 2018 – Department of Veterans Affairs)
- The National Security Agency is urging organizations to deploy AI systems with security in mind. The NSA's new guidance for deploying artificial intelligence systems, released this week, includes security recommendations for the high-demand technology. The agency said the rapid adoption of AI systems has made them a major target for hackers. Recommendations include protecting sensitive data and defending against potential misuse of AI systems. The NSA also said that organizations need to update their systems to address evolving AI risks while adhering to traditional IT security best practices.
Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not directed to users within the European Economic Area.
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The head of the Transportation Security Administration said TSA's recent pay increases are working, with staff turnover decreasing to nearly 9% since last year's historic pay increase. Testifying before members of Congress yesterday, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the agency's Federal Employee Perspective Survey scores are also improving. Last year's pay increases brought TSA's pay into line with many other federal employees. And TSA's 2025 budget request includes $377 million to continue funding regular pay raises and career ladder advancements.The top leadership position in the Office of Personnel Management will soon be vacant. Kiran Ahuja will step down as OPM director in early May. Mr. Ahuja has been in office for nearly three years, making him the longest-serving OPM director in nearly a decade. Mr. Ahuja cited ongoing health concerns and a recent death in his family as reasons for his retirement. In the meantime, OPM Deputy Director Rob Schreiber will serve as acting director of the agency.
The Postal Service has identified problems with punctual delivery in areas where it is implementing network modernization plans. The agency's watchdog said such delays were worst in Richmond, Virginia and Atlanta after the USPS opened large regional facilities to consolidate operations. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said service in those areas should be stable by this summer. DeJoy told lawmakers he remains optimistic about the network changes, which he said are essential to reducing costs. “I apologize to the constituents who were receiving that service. But in the long run, if we don't make these changes, it's going to be the same every day across the country,” DeJoy said.The Air Force will soon launch two new projects using the Quick Start Initiative. The service will be able to initiate projects on resilient GPS capabilities and combat management for moving target display through quick start privileges. A quick start provision included in the 2024 Defense Policy Act would allow the service to begin developing new programs before Congress formally provides funding.
There was broad support for the bill, which aims to eliminate current limits on Social Security benefits for some federal retirees. If the Social Security Fairness Act becomes law, it would abolish the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). However, some opponents of the bill remain concerned. They told House members at yesterday's hearing that the original WEP and GPO policies were intended to ensure fair treatment and maintain equity. They worry that removing WEP and GPO will also create solvency problems for Social Security. Still, the bill's proponents argue that WEP and GPO are unfair to public sector workers. They want the bill passed.Air Force officials want a provision in the 2025 Defense Policy Act that would transfer all National Guard space forces to the Space Force. The military wants to bring these units under the Space Force Personnel Management Act. Under this legislation, the Space Force has already transferred 1,000 full-time Air Force Reserve personnel to the Space Force. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said there would be minimal changes to how Air National Guard members perform missions under the potential new structure.Veterans give higher trust scores to the health care they receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans' confidence in VA outpatient care is nearly 92%. This data is based on a survey of more than 480,000 veterans who received VA treatment in the past 90 days. Veterans rated the VA on criteria such as ease of scheduling an appointment, quality of care received, and pharmacy services. When the department began tracking these metrics in 2018, veterans gave VA an 85% confidence score. (Trust in VA among Veteran patients rises to 91.8%, an increase of 6% since 2018 – Department of Veterans Affairs)The National Security Agency is urging organizations to deploy AI systems with security in mind. The NSA's new guidance for deploying artificial intelligence systems, released this week, includes security recommendations for the high-demand technology. The agency said the rapid adoption of AI systems has made them a major target for hackers. Recommendations include protecting sensitive data and defending against potential misuse of AI systems. The NSA also said that organizations need to update their systems to address evolving AI risks while adhering to traditional IT security best practices.
Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not directed to users within the European Economic Area.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-newscast/2024/04/since-recent-pay-raise-fewer-feds-leaving-tsa/ Fewer federal employees are leaving TSA since recent pay raises
