The Foreign Service Journal, March 2005

12 AFSA NEWS • MARCH 2005 LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE I nthewaningdaysof the108thCongress, lawmakers cleared and sent to the pres- ident two bills that affect the benefits of all federal employees, including theForeign Service. u S. 2657 (signed by the president on Dec. 23, now designated as PL 108-496) establishes a voluntary programfor feder- al employees and annuitants to purchase supplemental dental and vision insurance as part of their Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan. Like the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, it is fully fund- ed by the employee. However, the feder- al government can leverage its purchasing power and lower the costs for improved dental and visionbenefits. Currently, fed- eral health plans are viewed by many to have minimal dental and health benefits. The chief sponsors for S. 2657 were Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii). u H.R.4324 (signedby thepresident on Dec. 21, now designated as PL 108-469) allows Thrift Savings Plan participants to elect or modify their contributions in any pay period instead of having to wait until the designated semiannual “open season.” This bill will helpnewemployees by elim- inatingcurrentwaitingperiods for enrolling in TSP, and also provides programs to improve the investment and retirement planning skills of TSP participants. Sponsors of these positive changes were Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) on the Senate side, and Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) in the House of Representatives. u The $388 billionomnibus spending bill (signedby thepresident onDec. 8, now designated as PL 108-447) includes a 3.5- percent pay increase for bothmilitary and non-military federal employees. Members of the Senior Executive Service and Senior ForeignService can receive the full increase based upon their income ceilings and the discretionof their agency. BecauseForeign Service at the FS-1 level andbelowwho are posted abroad do not qualify for locality pay, theywill not receive that portionof the increase and will see their income further disadvantaged for serving abroad. On Jan. 4, thenew109thCongress con- vened. The president submitted his FY 2006budget request inearlyFebruary, and a new legislative session is under way. At the topofAFSA’s legislativeagenda for 2005 is the expansion of “locality pay” for non- senior Foreign Service employees in the field. We are also carrying forward objec- tives—such as restoration of prescriptive relief, reduction inthe low-ranking“quota,” and implementationof a PITbuy-back of contributions towardretirement—thatwe didnot achieveduring the 108thCongress. There are many issues that AFSA has tackledbasedon concerns raised fromthe field, such as the change in the tax code on the sale of a principal residence, the amending of the Virginia Constitution to allowForeignServicepersonnel outside the state to vote in state and local elections, enhanced ability to send children to school away fromthe local post facility, and many other provisions. More input is always welcome. Please contact AFSA to share your concerns. ▫ WORLDSPACE DONATES 15 RADIOS TO AFSA AFSA Passes Along Satellite Radio Donations to Posts A FSA received a donation of 15 satellite radios fromWorldSpace Satellite Radio in December, and is passing themalong to posts around the world that canmake best use of them. To date, AFSA’s Advertising Manager Ed Miltenberger has sent eight receivers to CLOoffices at posts chosenwith the help of the Family LiaisonOffice. These posts are: Conakry,Malabo, Bangui, Khartoum, Monrovia, Praia, Yaounde andN’Djam- ena. The radios have been donated along with a one-year subscription to the radio service. Five radios will be donat- ed by the AFSAmembership department to the five AFSA representatives who help sign up the most new AFSA members during the current membership drive. We all heard about Howard Stern’s highly public defection to satellite radio in 2004. Satellite radio is gaining popularity as analternative tocommercial radio in the U.S. and now, overseas as well. WorldSpace SatelliteRadiowas found- ed in 1990 “to create a new form of elec- tronic media using satellites to broadcast directly topeople across the globe” (as stat- ed on www.worldspace.com). I n June 2004, WorldSpace introduced a multina- tional satellite-radio subscription plan for $10 per month. WorldSpace SubscriptionOperations Director Bill Rock explains that his company chose to donate radios toAFSA because “the feedback we have received from Foreign Service members, NGOs and Peace Corps Volunteers, as well as U.S. and British military personnel abroad, has been great. We wanted to get more people exposed to the product and felt that AFSA could find places around the world where theWorldSpace service and receivers would get themost use. We have made similar donations to military service personnel abroad.” WorldSpace currently rules the satellite radio market outside the U.S., but other companies, includingSirius SatelliteRadio, will be trying to get in on the internation- almarket. So, for those of you in far-flung localeswhohave troublegettingalongwith- out Diane Rehm, country music or even Howard Stern, a satellite radio might be your answer. ▫ Susan Reardon and Bill Rock at WorldSpace. MIKKELA THOMPSON