Federal pay not high enough to be competitive with private industry; Government does it cheaper as usual

Article Title: Department of Interior can't retain oil and gas employees because of higher private sector rates

Snippet of Article: "...Higher salaries in the oil and gas industry are luring employees away from the Interior Department..."

Source: roller-cone-bits.blogspot.com Department of Interior employment

TSA recognized baggage lock; A Red Tab alerts you if opened by TSA

Article Title: TSA recognized baggage lock; A Red Tab alerts you if opened by TSA

Snippet of Article: "...Makes it easy to reset the inspection status & lock combination and protect your possessions whenever you travel. The TSA logo alerts screeners, who can open and relock your bag using codes and secure tools, and allows TSA screeners to inspect and relock..."
Source: TSA recognized baggage locks from Amazon

President's new budget will not contain 'chained Consumer Price Index' proposal

Article Title: Obama dumping chained CPI, which feds, employee groups strongly opposed

Snippet of Article: "...Unlike his 2014 budget proposal, the President's new budget will not contain a proposal to calculate cost-of-living increases for federal retirees and Social Security recipients using a "chained Consumer Price Index."..."

Source: www.federalnewsradio.com chained CPI

Save us from Social Security cut! Send a quick message please

Article Title: No Chained CPI

Snippet of Article: Article Snip: "...We cannot break our promise to our seniors. These are benefits they earned over a lifetime. Our parents and grandparents put their faith in us, and we will not let them down. Please use this link to send a message to the president...."

Source: ourfuture.org Chained CPI

Senate Moves 'Clean' Debt Bill Forward; Federal Minimum Wage Increase

Article Title: Senate Moves 'Clean' Debt Bill Forward; Federal Minimum Wage Increase

Five-Day S&P 500 Index (CNN)

Debt Ceiling Raised until 2015

This extends the Treasury's borrowing authority without any more raping of the American working class to satisfy the 'extreme' wealthy. However, huge tax breaks and protections for the extreme wealthy are still protected. The debt ceiling is raised until 2015. Anticipation of the debt ceiling increase has led to a five-day change to the S and P 500 Index to an increase of 3.76% (at the time of this post).

Federal Minimum Wage for Contract Workers Raised

On this same date, the President Obama has raised the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 per hour starting next year in an attempt to set an example for private and corporate entities. The president also complimented Costco for providing decent wages and advancement opportunities.
Source: The Federal Newsgroup
Federal Minimum Wage, Debt Ceiling Raised,

Federal employee retirement eligibility boom could produce mission-critical skills gaps

Article Title: Fed-worker retirement eligibility to skyrocket by 2017, report says

Snippet of Article: "...The GAO concluded that the large numbers of retirement-eligible employees in coming years may be a cause for concern because “their retirement could produce mission-critical skills gaps if left unaddressed.”..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Congress screws blue-collar federal employees again but took care of white-collar feds, as congress takes another holiday break

Article Title: Feds will soon see first pay raise in three years - but not all will benefit

Snippet of Article: "...the modest pay raise only applies to white-collar employees under the General Schedule system. Some 200,000 blue-collar federal workers at places such as the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs as well as the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, will not see a similar increase in pay. ..."

Source: www.federalnewsradio.com

HHS says they don't trust Rep. Darrell Issa

Article Title: HHS to Darrell Issa: We don’t trust you

Snippet of Article: "...The Health and Human Services Department told House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa that it won’t turn over documents related to the security of the Healthcare.gov website because it can’t trust him to keep secret..."

Source: www.politico.com Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Health and Human Services (HHS),

Budget agreement will not require additional contributions toward retirement by any current federal employees, but...

Article Title: Budget deal protects current feds, while new workers will pay more toward retirement

Snippet of Article: "...Federal employees hired after Jan. 1 will make higher contributions toward their retirement benefits than current workers under a budget deal announced Tuesday night...."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Federal Employee Retirement,

2014 sequester cuts may be coming

Article Title: Sequester in 2014 will be worse, report warns

Snippet of Article: "...options will be harder to come by if a second round of sequester cuts strikes early next year, a liberal-leaning think tank warns in a new report...."

Source: www.federaltimes.com

Update on stolen Cobalt-60: 6 people in hospital for possible radiation poisoning

Article Title: 6 hospitalized in Mexico for possible radiation poisoning

Cobalt-60 [Wikipedia]

Snippet of Article: "...Cleaning up the area could take weeks, he said, because they don't have robotic equipment they would need to quickly collect the dangerous cobalt. They're coming up with a plan and considering asking for help from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United States or Canada...."
Source: www.cnn.com cobalt-60, International assistance provided by the United States of America, International Atomic Energy Agency,

Some FEHB plans increase more than others; watch for out-of-pocket increases

Article Title: Why are some feds’ health-insurance premiums increasing more than others’?

Snippet of Article: "...Plans with the lowest rate increases include Kaiser standard option (less than $1 per pay period for a self-enrollment) and Samba standard option (no increase at all). Mail Handlers standard option actually decreased. ..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Mail Handlers standard option insurance, Kaiser standard option insurance,

Are late night mail deliveries responsible for shooting?

Article Title: Postal Worker Shot, Killed in Cheverly

Snippet of Article: "...There have been complaints in recent months that postal carriers are having to deliver mail later in the day, sometimes after it is dark...."

Source: www.nbcwashington.com

NHTSA Tesla investigation

Article Title: Feds investigate Tesla fires: Elon Musk's idea? NHTSA disputes that

Photo courtesy of Tesla

Snippet of Article: "...Federal safety regulators opened a probe into a series of fires in Tesla Motors Inc. electric cars following crashes...."
Source: www.latimes.com NHTSA Tesla investigation

Secret Service agents embroiled in alleged misconduct

Article Title: Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama’s detail after alleged misconduct

Snippet of Article: "...“was allegedly discovered attempting to reenter a woman’s room after accidentally leaving behind a bullet from his service weapon. ”..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Secret Service

FEHB Open Season will be November 11 - December 9, 2013

Article Title: FEHB Open Season will be November 11 - December 9, 2013

FEHB Open Season is near

Snippet of Article: "...This is the time of year to ensure that you have the right health, dental or vision insurance coverage for you and your family. It is also time to consider the money you can save on your out-of-pocket medical and dependent care expenses for 2014...."
Source: www.opm.gov

Hacker allegedly stole identifying information of workers at NASA, the Missile Defense Agency and...

Article Title: Hacker Charged With Theft From U.S. Army, Defense Agency

Snippet of Article: "...Love stole identifying information of workers at NASA, the Missile Defense Agency and the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command, according an indictment unsealed today in federal court..."

Source: www.businessweek.com

Dangerous Trend: Late Night Mail Delivery; heavier-than-normal mail volume blamed

Article Title: Late Mail Deliveries Upset Residents in the D.C. Region

Snippet of Article: "..."Our goal is to have all mail delivered by 6 p.m.,” the U.S. Postal Service told News4. “Occasionally, heavier-than-normal mail volume or staffing issues require us to deliver outside of that time frame. We apologize for that. We expect to have it resolved very soon."..."

Source: www.nbcwashington.com heavier-than-normal mail volume, mail volume, Postal Employee Dangers, Delay of Mail,

Those that want to privatize America's Postal Service are same people behind shutdown of government

Article Title: Who’s behind the government shutdown? Some of the same people trying to privatize the Postal Service

Snippet of Article: "...The conservative think-tanks and lobbying organizations behind the attack on Obamacare are some of the same groups waging a war against postal workers and the fundamental principle that the Postal Service should be owned by the American people. ..."

Source: www.savethepostoffice.com postal privatization, destruction of postal service, Darrell Issa (R-Calif.),

Bills may permit federal worker back pay upon end of government shutdown

Article Title: House and Senate bills would pay federal workers for shutdown furloughs

Snippet of Article: "...“It is our responsibility to assure these public servants, mostly middle class and struggling to get by like so many other Americans, will be made whole again when it finally ends.”..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Government Shutdown 2013, Federal government shutdown news, Federal Employee Pay,

Government shutdown furloughing close to 800,000 employees

Article Title: White House: Agencies, Start Your Shutdowns

Snippet of Article: "...furloughing close to 800,000 employees. The full scope of the shutdown remains unclear, and many government services – such as the military and postal service – will continue...."

Source: wsj.com Federal government shutdown news, Federal Shutdown, Government Shutdown, Government Shutdown 2013, shutdown plans,

Shutdown nears, stocks fall

Article Title: Stocks tumble as government shutdown nears

Snippet of Article: "...Stocks were sharply lower on Wall Street as investors braced for a potential government shutdown..."

Source: www.usatoday.com Government Shutdown 2013, Federal government shutdown news, Federal Shutdown,

NSA maps some Americans' social connections

Article Title: NSA maps out a person's social connections

Snippet of Article: "...For almost three years the National Security Agency has been tapping the data it collects to map out some Americans' social connections, allowing the government to identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, The New York Times reported...."

Source: www.cbsnews.com Social Connection Mapping

Prediction: Government Shutdown Will Be Averted

Article Title: Sen. Rob Portman predicts government shutdown will be averted

Snippet of Article: "...He said he is optimistic that the House and Senate will be able to reach a spending compromise in time to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1. "I think we will pass something," Portman said...."

Source: www.cleveland.com Government Shutdown 2013