Bipartisan Senate Quartet Offers New Plan To Save USPS

A bipartisan Senate quartet introduced a plan Wednesday that would refund nearly  $7 billion to the United States Postal Service in order to keep the institution solvent as it struggles to stay afloat. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Dela.) were harmonious in saying that the refund is in no way a bailout for the service.  “This refund from the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirement fund is not a bailout,” Lieberman said. “This was, in fact, an overpayment by the postal service and it is entitled to receive that money back.” According to a statement released by the quartet,  Post Master General Patrick Donahoe would be given access to money the postal service has overpaid to the FERS. Donahoe would then use the funding to offer buyouts or retirement incentives in order to reduce the postal service’s workforce by 100,000.  Complimenting the refund is a measure that would prohibit the postal service from eliminating Saturday delivery for at least two years. Following that period, the service would be required to meet a series of conditions in order to scrap weekend deliveries. “What we want to do is to ensure that eliminating Saturday service is truly the last resort, not the first option,” Collins said. The provision to save weekend service contradicts a similar bill passed in the House that would effectively allow the postal service to drop a delivery day. The bill, sponsored by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), has been widely criticized by Democrats as partisan legislation.

Pentagon Moving Forward With Fort Hood Recommendations

The Department of Defense announced Thursday that they will be implementing 26 of the 79 recommendations that followed a review of November’s shooting at the Fort Hood military installation in Texas.

These recommendations include the expansion of eGuardian, an FBI run threat detection and tracking system, increased information sharing between law enforcement agencies within the military and new policies for weapons privately owned by those who live on-base.

The independent review, which was spearheaded by former Secretary of the Army Togo West and retired Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vernon Clark, issued the 79 recommendations in a report this January. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has taken issue with the report for not specifically addressing Islamist extremism.

The November 5th shooting was carried out by Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army Major and psychologist reported to have ties with a controversial former Imam in Yemen. Hasan killed 13 and wounded 30 others.

Actions on the remaining recommendations will be announced by June.

Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano Defends Department's Budget Cuts

By Monique Cala University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano defended the Department's FY2011 Budget Request Wednesday, after members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee expressed concern for decreases in what they called ‘key’ areas.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who chairs the committee, questioned the decision to decrease funds allocated for cyber security.

“This budget cuts the spending on cyber security by 5 percent. Key information systems in the private and public sectors are penetrated everyday in our defenses against computer attacks and data theft,” said Lieberman.

“Cyber space is of key concern. The reduction noted is attributable to many things,” Napolitano responded. “One, is that there were one time expanses that we had last year that we do not need to duplicate in 2011.”

Cuts made to the U.S. Coast Guard also came under close scrutiny. Sen. Susan Collins in particular asked U.S. ports would remain safe in light of Guard's $75 million budget reduction.

“Our nation's top intelligence officials recently testified before Congress that it is “certain” that al Qaeda is planning to attempt another attack against the United States within the next six months,” explained Collins.

Collins went on to voice concern with the request for $200 million to provide security in large metropolitan areas in the United States that host trials for suspected terrorists now held at Guatanamo Bay.

“These terrorists could be tried on military bases before military tribunals, without incurring this unnecessary expense and security risk,” said Collins.

Napolitano responded that regardless of where the suspected terrorists are tried, in military or civilian courts, the expense for security will still be close to $200 million.

A full break down of the budget can be found at the DHS web site.

Landmark Gay Rights Bill Passes Through Senate Committee

By Laura Smith - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, which would allow federal employees in same-sex partnerships to have the same employment benefits as their married co-workers, was approved Wednesday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The benefits would include: health care, retirement and disability plans, family, medical and emergency leave, group life insurance, long-term care insurance and access to worker’s comp.

Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he and Ranking Member Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the bill with the purpose of bringing a measure of equality to the federal work force.

“I believe this legislation is really on the right side of history, and it, in a sense, is another expression of a concept we believe in, which is equal pay for equal work, and in this case, equal benefits for equal work,” Lieberman said.

Lieberman noted that federal employees and their domestic partners would have to abide by existing employment related obligations, such as conflict of interest provisions, anti-nepotism rules and financial disclosure requirements.

Homeland Security Committee Confronts Cyber Crime

According to Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, the true extent of cyber crime may be impossible to judge.

“A lot of these cyber attacks go undetected and unreported because the victims are frightened to report them,” said Lieberman Monday during a Homeland Security Committee hearing.

Lieberman explained that cyber crooks had sophisticated methods, such as commandeering an unknowing individual's computer to traffic money.

Lieberman said that in 2007, the TJX Corporation, a leading retailing organization, experienced a breach of its wireless networks in which up to 94 million credit and debit card numbers were put the at risk of being used illegally.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is the Committee's ranking member, pointed to computer hacker Albert Gonzalez, who was indicted in August for his alleged involvement in the largest credit and debit breach ever in the United States, as a symbol for how dangerous cyber crime has become. Gonzalez pleaded guilty recently to charges stemming from the theft of tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers from the computers of several major retailers. Authorities believe this was not Gonzalez’s only major cyber crime.

“Protecting our cyberspace has become critically important. In the past 18 months, this Committee has held three hearings on the topic of cyber security,” said Collins.

The witnesses at Monday's hearing included Philip Reitinger, deputy undersecretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate for Homeland Security Department; Michael Merritt, assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Investigations; William Nelson, president and CEO of Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center; and Robert Carr, chairman and CEO of Heartland Payment Systems, Inc.