Dr. Stephen Sundlof joins the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine (CPCVM) View the Press Release

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White House gets tough on ID card reader requirements

BY ALIYA STERNSTEIN 02/07/2011
     Beginning Oct. 1, the White House will penalize agencies that fail to outfit facilities and information technology systems with electronic identity card readers by withholding funds for other programs, according to a new White House memo.
Federal employees and contractors are required to carry ID badges embedded with digital fingerprints and photos to access federal buildings and networks, under the 2004 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. But agencies have long struggled to employ the electronic features of the badges.
     The Feb. 3 Office of Management and Budget guidance directs agency heads to submit implementation policies by March 31 on required uses of the smart cards, and stipulates that funds be frozen at offices that do not follow the rules. The memo stops short of restricting bonuses and awards at agencies that have not fully complied with HSPD-12, a penalty that the nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies recommended during the Obama-Biden transition.
     The IDs -- mentioned in President Obama's 2009 comprehensive cyber policy review, are to be issued following standard security checks on individuals. Agencies reported they have completed about 5 million background investigations for 5.7 million employees and contractors, and have issued 4.5 million IDs as of December 2010.
"The majority of the federal workforce is now in possession of the credentials, and therefore agencies are in a position to aggressively step up their efforts to use the electronic capabilities of the credentials," OMB Director Jacob Lew wrote in Thursday's memo.
     An attachment to the memo from the Homeland Security Department outlines rules for the usage policies, such as a requirement that, effective immediately, all new IT systems must be equipped to read smart cards before the systems go live.
Gregory Schaffer, DHS assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications, wrote in the attachment, "Effective the beginning of FY2012, existing physical and logical access control systems must be upgraded to use [the] credentials, in accordance with [National Institute of Standards and Technology] guidelines, prior to the agency using development and technology refresh funds to complete other activities."
By Feb. 25, agencies must designate responsible individuals to ensure the policies are issued, the memo added.
     Homeland Security, which last year took over governmentwide cybersecurity operations, will work with the General Services Administration to oversee HSPD-12 implementation, according to the memo.
     As recently as March 2010, the Government Accountability Office reported "most agencies had not made full use of the electronic authentication capabilities available on the personal identification verification cards that they had issued or had plans to do so."
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110207_9583.php?oref=rss?zone=NGpopular

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2011 Calvin W. Schwabe Award 
The Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM) is currently soliciting nominations for the 2011 Schwabe Award. The Calvin W. Schwabe Award is presented annually by the AVEPM to honor lifetime achievement in veterinary epidemiology and preventive medicine. Previous recipients include Drs. Calvin W. Schwabe, Robert K. Anderson, James H. Steele, S. Wayne Martin, Clive C. Gay, David W. Hird, Hollis N. Erb, and most recently: Preben W. Willeberg. A symposium honoring Dr. Preben Willeberg took place on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010. The title of the 2010 Schwabe Symposium was, “Animal Health Surveillance: from Science to Application.” The symposium featured a keynote address delivered by Dr. Willeberg in addition to presentations by Drs. Angus Cameron, Jette Christensen, Mo Salman, and Aaron Scott. Papers presented were representative of a wide range of topics concerning animal health surveillance. The sessions were very well attended and papers will be published in a forthcoming issue of Preventive Veterinary Medicine. A symposium overview is available at: http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/mip/crwad/avepm_symposium_2010.htm#willeberg We encourage you all to consider mentors that have been important to your careers, and to nominate them for this prestigious award. Nominators should submit a full-length CV for their nominee, in addition to a one-page biographical statement for the nominee and letter of support which discusses the reasons that this person is worthy of this recognition. In addition, please feel free to suggest a theme for a symposium (relating to veterinary epidemiology) that would be held to honor your nominee should he or she be selected to receive the award. Application materials will be reviewed by a nominating committee and the 2011 recipient will be selected based upon overall contributions to veterinary epidemiology and preventive medicine. There are no restrictions or requirements for nominees or nominators regarding their training, area of expertise, affiliations, etc. (specifically, nominees and nominators are not required to be members of AVEPM). Please note: Nominations are actively considered for 3 years without need for resubmission. Applications must be received by April 1, 2011 in order to receive full consideration for this year. Application materials or questions should be directed to Dr. Morgan Scott (president-elect of AVEPM) by email (see contact information below). H. Morgan Scott DVM, PhD Professor, Epidemiology E.J. Frick Professor of Veterinary Medicine Department of Diagnostic Medicine / Pathobiology 332 Coles Hall, 1800 Denison Avenue College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas, USA 66506-5705 (O): +1-785-532-4602 (F): +1-785-532-4851 (C): +1-785-320-0843 Email: hmscott@vet.k-state.edu http://www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/dmp/personnel/faculty/scott.htm http://myprofile.cos.com/hmscott  

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Life and Taxes 
By Emily Long elong@govexec.com February 10, 2011

     Open season for life insurance benefits occurs infrequently, so government workers don't have the chance to review their options, or to change their coverage often. But new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management provides the opportunity to do so. OPM last fall issued a final rule, which took effect Oct. 1, 2010, mandating reforms to the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance program and earlier this month issued more detailed guidance on the changes.
All FEGLI enrollees receive basic insurance, which includes coverage totaling an employee's annual pay, rounded to the nearest $1,000, plus an additional $2,000. Enrollees also can elect additional plans. Option A provides $10,000 of coverage, while Option B is available in multiples of annual pay. Option C covers spouses and dependent children.
     The new rules mean program enrollees now have 60 days, instead of 31 days, after becoming eligible for FEGLI coverage to choose an optional insurance plan. They also can use a qualifying life event, such as marriage, divorce, spousal death, a birth or an adoption, to elect coverage. In addition, federal workers called to active military duty have the opportunity to extend their automatic 12 months of FEGLI coverage for an extra year, for a total of 24 months of coverage.
According to the new guidance, the regulations also affect the level of coverage for specific employees. For example, the annual rate for physicians and dentists employed by the Veterans Affairs Department will include market pay in addition to base salaries. For workers holding more than one position, the amount of basic and Option B insurance is based on the total of both salaries, not whichever is higher.
Employees receiving workers' compensation benefits who return to their jobs and are eligible for continued compensation, also will see their coverage change. The coverage received before reemployment will be suspended and employee coverage will be reinstated.
Annuitant Tax Angst
     OPM seeks to ease the worries of federal annuitants this tax season by providing additional help explaining withholding rate changes.
The Making Work Pay annual tax credit, included in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, expired on Dec. 31, 2010, meaning federal employees could see less money in their paychecks. According to OPM, the change means retirees also could see an increase in the amount of federal tax being withheld from their monthly annuity payments.
     Federal annuitants can find general information about these changes at http://opm.gov/retire. Retirees who have additional questions can contact OPM by phone at 888-767-6738, or via e-mail at retire@opm.gov. The agency has increased the number of people responding to both types of inquiries and aims to answer all e-mails within 48 hours, according to Bill Zielinski, associate director of retirement services at OPM.
Annuitants also can change the amount withheld after they determine what their tax liability is using information from the Internal Revenue Service, Zielinski said. Retirees who want to adjust their withholding amount can log on to OPM's online service portal.

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The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture published the attached notice and solicitation for nominations for designated shortage areas for the second round of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program.  In each state, the State Animal Health Official (SAHO)is responsible for nominating the shortage areas in his/her state.  However, “NIFA strongly encourages the SAHO to involve leading health animal experts in the State in the identification and prioritization of shortage situation nominations”(pg 5133).

For this program to be successful, it is essential that the SAHO works closely with stakeholder groups to identify and nominate designated shortage areas in each state. Once they establish the designated shortage areas, we anticipate that NIFA will publish a notice for applicants for the program in March 2011.

FULL DETAILS

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Canada introduces biosecurity standards to minimize diseases

24 Jan 2011

     The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), in collaboration with the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC), is developing a voluntary national farm-level biosecurity standard for the dairy sector.

     An advisory group will guide the development of the standard. This group will be composed of representatives from DFC, large animal vets from the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, academia, and provincial and federal governments.

     "Canadian producers have a long-standing commitment to creating and implementing effective biosecurity programs on their farms," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "The standard will build on this foundation by providing goals, objectives and measurable targets. Sound farm-level biosecurity protects cattle health and maintains consumer confidence in Canadian products."

     "Biosecurity at farm level is an important tool for preventing the occurrence of diseases in dairy herds," said Jacques Laforge, President of Dairy Farmers of Canada. "Developing a national standard, based on current practices, will encourage wider adoption of best practices on farms across the country. DFC is pleased to continue collaborating with the government on biosecurity and other initiatives that strengthen the dairy industry."

     A benchmarking exercise will be conducted at the farm-level to help determine current biosecurity practices in the Canadian dairy industry. The exercise will also highlight existing best management practices and will give producers an opportunity to input into the standard.

     The national standard is expected to be completed by spring 2012 and will focus on the broad issues affecting biosecurity. Biosecurity refers to activities that can be done to minimize the risk of introducing and spreading disease and pests.

[Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency]

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By Kellie Lunneyklunney@govexec.comMay 31, 2011

The Agriculture Department is offering early outs to most employees and buyouts for 544 positions, joining a growing list of federal agencies that are trying to reshape their workforce in an austere budget environment.

The department received approval on May 13 from the Office of Personnel Management to offer voluntary separation and retirement packages to certain agency workers, according to information on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's website. A union representative for the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals confirmed the department offered early outs to some employees of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Federal News Radio first reported the buyout options at Agriculture.

All department employees are eligible for an early out except positions with direct-hiring authority. The window for applying for an early out runs from June 1 through Aug. 30, and the effective date for retirement must be no later than Oct. 3. Certain APHIS employees within the Wildlife Services, and Plant Protection and Quarantine workers in Hawaii, are eligible for a separate, limited buyout offer. The Agricultural Research Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service also are offering buyouts for certain jobs affected by specific earmark reductions and program eliminations.

"To assist agencies in addressing these current and upcoming budget reductions [in fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2012], the secretary is making available a variety of tools to minimize the impact on our employees and ensure equitable treatment among those involved," said a letter from Sharon Coursey, director of human resources marketing and regulatory programs, to APHIS employees.

The department also sent notification letters about early-out options to employees of the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.

While both are voluntary, buyouts and early outs are different. To be eligible for a Voluntary Early Retirement Authorization (early out), employees must have 20 years of service and be at least 50 years of age, or have at least 25 years of service -- this applies to those covered under the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System. CSRS employees younger than 55 face a 2 percent penalty, but can earn cost-of-living adjustments upon retirement. FERS employees won't get dinged on their pensions, but in most cases they will not receive COLA benefits until age 62. Buyouts, or Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments, are cash incentives of up to $25,000 for employees and can be offered along with an early out.

Matt Herrick, press secretary at USDA, called the buyouts and early outs a "proactive approach" to avoid an adverse effect on the workforce.

Stan Painter, an FSIS consumer safety inspector in Alabama and the chairman of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, doesn't think most FSIS employees will take the early-out option, even though "it is not a proud time to be a federal employee." Painter, who has been with the agency for 26 years, lamented the current environment for federal employees, saying he has never seen such an "all-out assault" on government workers emanating from Washington.

"When I first came into the agency, people would ask, 'What do you do?,' I said, -- and still say - 'I work for you, I work for the people,' " Painter said. "We work for the people, but you know it's certainly changed in the time period I have been here, and not for the better. It's more like change we can't freaking believe," he added, a play on President Obama's popular 2008 presidential campaign slogan, Change We Can Believe In.

Other agencies in the federal government are offering voluntary separation packages, including the U.S. Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution. In March, the Postal Service announced its plan to offer $20,000 in retirement incentives to eligible employees as part of its plan to cut 7,500 administrative jobs. The Air Force Materiel Command began surveying its civilian workforce in May to gauge interest in potential buyouts.

More departments and agencies are likely to seek authority from OPM to offer buyouts and early outs in the current budget-conscious climate, according to Jessica Klement, government affairs director for the Federal Managers Association. "This is likely the start of a trend throughout government, one that will spell disaster without proper succession planning," she said.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=47905&dcn=e_gvet

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Your Threat Assessment Score Card!

By Mike Causey
If you are feeling threatened because of where you work and what you do, you are not alone. And you are not crazy. At least not in that respect.
In fact there are so many things that could happen to federal workers, postal employees and retirees that you literally need a score card to track them.
The upside is that in most cases this is fiscal, not personal. But personal or not, there are people in high places - in Congress and within the administration - who believe something drastic must be done to get a handle on federal costs and spending. And in many cases that handle is right on your, uh, hide. As in...
Cutting your take home pay, your future retirement benefits and forcing feds and retirees to either choose less comprehensive health insurance coverage in the future or pay much, much higher premiums for current coverage.
The most immediate threat to the most federal and postal workers is a bipartisan proposal that would reduce take home pay of four out of every five current workers to the tune of $4 billion. That's BILLION with a B!
The proposal is part of a bi-partisan, deficit-reduction package under serious consideration by the so-called Blair House group. The group is headed by Vice President Joe Biden and is made up of Republican and Democratic members of Congress as well as representatives of the Obama administration.
The sweeping plan is simple enough: If enacted into law, it would require everybody under the Federal Employees Retirement System to contribute 5.8 percent of their salary to help finance their future retirement benefits. At present, the FERS employees contribute only 0.8 percent of salary to their future total retirement benefit. If implemented as part of an up-or-down money-saving package Congress would deal with on an up-or-down-vote, FERS employees would have to pay 5.8 percent of salary into their retirement, and continue to contribute 6.2 percent to Social Security.
Also in the works are plans, some already before Congress others still in the talk stage, that would:
• Extend the current 2 year federal pay freeze for white collar federal workers by at least another year. This one, by the way, is being considered as "highly likely" to happen.
• Congress likes a proposal that would fire federal and postal workers who are seriously behind in their taxes.
• There are also plans to freeze ALL federal hiring.
• Eliminate within-grade raises for federal workers. The White House earlier ordered a 2-year white collar federal pay freeze, but it left alone the semi-automatic longevity pay raises (worth 3 percent) that federal workers get every one, two or three years depending on which step of their grade they are in, and how long they are in it.
• Base future retirement benefits for federal and postal workers on their length of service and highest-5 year average salary. Under current rules, annuities are based on service time and the employee's high-3 average salary. Benefits were based on the high-5 for many years until Congress changed them. When this change would take place (and it has NOT been introduced in Congress yet) is anybody's guess.
• Change the formula used to compute future cost of living (inflation-catch-up) raises for federal and postal employees. The proposal in question could reduce future annual COLAs by a full percentage point each year.
• Revamp the formula used to determine how much of your health premium the government pays. Right now Uncle Sam pays most (about 70 percent) of the total premium for most plans. In some cases more, in some cases slightly less. The Postal Service, thanks to a union contract, pays even more of its employees' (but not retirees) premiums. But that would change if the new system is put into place. Each year the government would pay a smaller portion of the fast-rising premiums while employees and retirees would pay more each year.
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=20&sid=2398827

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The Center for Global Health (CGH) in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is inviting qualified licensed Physicians and Veterinarians to join us for a hiring event on July 15th 2011 in Atlanta, GA.

Please forward this email to all interested parties
Minimum Requirements to attend the event:
• Physicians or Veterinarians licensed to practice in the US
• Must be US Citizens
• Must register prior to May 31th
Other helpful experience/skills include:
• Overseas work experience
• Second language skills.
Medical Officer and Veterinarian positions are authorized for Direct Hire. We’ll be recruiting for many Domestic and International Medical Officer and Veterinarian positions. More information about the Center for Global Health can be found here:
http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/
Registration deadline May 31, 2011 5:00pm EST
If you are planning to attend and meet the minimum requirements, please fill out the registration form at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CDC-MD_DVMRegistration
Due to space limitations on this event, CDC will be reviewing resumes of candidates as they register in advance and will screen out candidates who do not have the basic experience for the positions.

Once your application and resume have been received and reviewed, you will be notified via email as to whether or not you have been accepted. You will be notified by June 16th. Walk-ins will not be accepted. Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until you have received the formal invitation to the event/letter of acceptance.

Email all inquiries to globalhealthjobs@cdc.gov
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Public consultation on the Guidance on Risk Assessment for Animal Welfare

European Food Safety Agency, Panel on Animal Health and Welfare EFSA’s Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) has launched an online public consultation on its draft Guidance on risk assessment for animal welfare. The consultation aims to gather the widest range of views to finalise the Guidance. Interested parties are invited to submit their comments by 17 June 2011, Friday at 17.00. Comments must be exclusively submitted using the electronic template, and referring to the line and page numbers. Please note that comments submitted by e-mail or by post cannot be taken into account. Similarly, a comment will not be considered if it: • is submitted after the deadline set out in the call; • is not related to the content of the document; • contains complaints against institutions, personal accusations, offensive statements or material; • is related to policy or risk management aspects, which is out of the scope of EFSA's activity. EFSA will assess comments from all interested parties against the above criteria. After completion of the public consultation, the AHAW Panel and its working group will consider relevant comments. A technical report including the comments received on the public consultation will be published. To down the Draft Guidance on Risk Assessment for Animal Welfare go to: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/consultations/call/ahaw110504.htm

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FAD PReP Swine and Dairy Industry Manuals Now Available  

Ctr. for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State University
May 9, 2011

The FAD PReP Swine and Dairy Industry Manuals provide a broad overview of U.S. livestock production methods, accompanied by color photos and illustrations, and the procedures that may be established in the event of a swine or cattle-susceptible, highly contagious foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak. A quick, effective, and well-coordinated response can minimize harm to the livestock industry as well as allied industries and service providers. Wide dissemination of this information is encouraged to establish open communication between regulators and producers with the goal of reducing the probability that animals or their caretakers become infected with a highly contagious FAD.

The intended audience of these documents includes officials involved in developing policy and/or managing a highly contagious FAD outbreak, members of veterinary response teams carrying out disease control efforts on swine or dairy operations, livestock producers, and any support personnel interacting with these operations so all are aware of the procedures that may be implemented in a highly contagious FAD event and the biosecurity practices they would be expected to follow.

These FAD PReP Industry Manuals were produced by the Center for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, College of Veterinary Medicine, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service through a cooperative agreement. Visit http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Emergency-Response/fad-prep.php to download the Industry Manuals (bottom of web page) and other resources. Additional FAD PReP documents are available on the FAD PReP Collaboration Website at https://fadprep.lmi.org (username and password can be requested).

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Apprpriations Chair Announces Partial List of Funding Cuts

The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Hal Rogers, R-Ky., on Feb. 9 announced a partial list of spending cuts—70 so far—that will be included in a continuing resolution to fund the government for the remaining seven months of the fiscal year.
A committee release said that a full list of cuts will be released when the bill is formally introduced. The total cuts will exceed $74 billion—including $58 billion in cuts to non-security discretionary spending.
“Never before has Congress undertaken a task of this magnitude,” Rogers said. “The cuts in this CR will represent the largest reduction in discretionary spending in the history of our nation.
Rogers said the cuts are “not low-hanging fruit,” but “will impact every [congressional] district across the country.”
Among the biggest announced cuts affecting agencies so far were:
• Office of Science -$1.1 billion
• Department of Treasury -$268 million
• IRS -$593 million
• GSA Federal Buildings Fund -$1.7 billion
• International Trade Administration -$93 million
• National Institute of Standards and Technology -$186 million
• NOAA -$336 million
• NASA -$379 million
• Environmental Protection Agency -$1.6 billion
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -$755 million
• National Institutes of Health -$1 billion
For more, go to: http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm

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