Article Title: Maryland postal worker wins $10 million jackpot
Snippet of Article: "...Simmons opted for the one-time cash option of $6.5 million before taxes. He could have chosen to receive the full $10 million over 30 years, according..."
Article Title: 2018 Social Security COLA is 2%
Snippet of Article: "...Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third
quarter of 2016 through the third quarter of 2017, Social Security and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefici
aries will receive a
2.0 percent
COLA for 2018. Other important 2018 Social Security information..."
Article Title: White House believes chief of staff's personal phone was hacked: report
Snippet of Article: "...A White House official told Politico that Kelly uses his government-issued phone for any official communication and has not used his personal phone since joining the Trump administration..."
Article Title: Gov’t to start testing federal employees for common opioids
Snippet of Article: "...The federal government said Friday it will start drug-testing employees for OxyContin and other commonly abused painkillers as part of President Trump’s effort to get a handle on the opioids crisis.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said the new guidelines will check for the semi-synthetic opioids to ensure that workers are clean and sober on the job..."
Article Title: The U.S. Is Warning Americans Not to Travel to Cuba. Here’s What to Know
Snippet of Article: "...The United States has issued a travel warning against Cuba, advising Americans not to visit and removing some personnel from the island in the wake of what are believed to be sonic attacks on diplomats..."
Article Title: SEC says hack may have led to illegal Wall Street profits
Snippet of Article: "...The country’s top Wall Street regulator says a cyberattack last year breached its system for storing documents filed by companies, possibly allowing hackers to make illegal profits.
The Securities and Exchange Commission admitted the breach in a statement posted Wednesday on its website.
Chairman Jay Clayton said a review of the agency’s cybersecurity revealed “a software vulnerability” in its EDGAR (electronic data gathering, analysis and retrieval) ..."
Article Title: U.S. bans use of Kaspersky software in federal agencies amid concerns of Russian espionage
Snippet of Article: "... ordered that Kaspersky Lab software be barred from federal government networks, giving agencies a timeline to get rid of it, according to several officials familiar with the plan who were not authorized to speak publicly about it. Duke ordered the scrub on the grounds that the company has connections to the Russian government and its software poses a security risk..."
Screwing the lower middle class again. The rich and corporations get richer while you get raped
Article Title: President Trump Wants to Cut Corporate Tax Rate to 15 Percent
Snippet of Article: "...Trump, who made overhauling taxes a pillar of his push for economic growth, has called for a 15 percent tax rate for corporations. The rate now ranges from 15 percent to 35 percent. The average tax rate paid by corporations is around 19 percent to 25 percent, according to the Treasury Department and congressional analysts..."
Article Title: FBI Considers Terror Possibility After Pipe Bomb Explodes at Indiana Post Office
Snippet of Article: "...A postal worker was injured when a pipe bomb exploded at a post office in northwestern Indiana, and the FBI said Thursday it is investigating whether it was an act of terrorism.
The investigation into the explosion Wednesday around 6 p.m. at the facility in East Chicago..."
Article Title: Trump Picks Oklahoma Congressman To Head NASA
Snippet of Article: "...President Trump's pick for the next leader of NASA is a fighter pilot who wants Americans to return to the moon but doesn't believe that humans are causing climate change.
Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma has to be confirmed by the Senate before taking charge of NASA..."
Article Title: 16 Postal Workers Charged After Accepting Bribes to Deliver Drugs, Officials Say
Snippet of Article: "...Sixteen postal workers in Atlanta and the surrounding area accepted bribes to deliver packages of cocaine, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
In exchange for bribery payments, the postal workers provided special addresses on their routes..."
Article Title: Q and A for federal workers: Open season choices
Snippet of Article: "...From Nov. 13 to Dec. 11, federal employees can enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for 2018, and those already enrolled can change plans, change coverage options (between self-only and self-and-family, for example) or change levels of coverage within plans that have more than one level. Retirees generally cannot join but can make the other types of changes if they have remained enrolled continuously..."
Article Title: Letter to the editor: Hey Uncle Sam, offering buyouts will save money
Snippet of Article: "...trying to understand why Congress cannot DO THE MATH. You have 77,000 federal workers ready to retire. They are waiting for the next buyout to be offered, whether it be $40,000 or $25,000!
If you offer this, you’d reduce your budget, even I know sometimes in life you have to bite the bullet and spend money to make money! Meaning you offer the buyout to the federal workers who are at the top of their salary scale, and the person you hire in their place you pay less money, thus saving money on each person that is replaced..."
Article Title: Federal Employee Pay Raise Process Moving Ahead
Snippet of Article: "...As of now, the presumed federal employee raise that would take place in 2018 is 1.9%. The deadline for the White House to propose a different rate increase is August 31. This letter will typically be issued just a few days before August 31st..."
Article Title: How tax reform could sting your retirement income
Snippet of Article: "...among the tax reform proposals currently being discussed is one that would convert part or all of workers' tax-deferred 401(k) contributions to Roth 401(k) contributions, which are made after taxes have been removed. That could significantly increase the federal income taxes that middle-income workers would pay throughout their lives. And it could reduce the amount of money they could spend throughout their lives after paying taxes.
A typical older middle-income worker could lose $500 per year..."
Article Title: Russia flies military observation plane over Capitol, Pentagon, CIA
Snippet of Article: "...Russia flew a military observation plane over Washington D.C. on Wednesday -- over the Capitol, the Pentagon and CIA Headquarters -- in a flight permitted under U.S. compliance with the >Open Skies Treaty, U.S. officials have confirmed to CBS News' David Martin..."
Our Note: How ridiculous is the Treaty on Open Skies? The U.S. does not need an insane treaty like this when we already have the most sophisticated monitoring in the world, such as satellite monitoring, etc. Did we not learn anything from 9-11?
Article Title: FBI Seized Smashed Hard Drives From Wasserman Schultz IT Aide’s Home
Snippet of Article: "...FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s information technology administrator, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Pakistani-born Imran Awan, longtime right-hand IT aide to the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, has since desperately tried to get the hard drives back..."
Article Title: Legislation Would Make Retired Federal Employee Pensions Public Information
Snippet of Article: "...The salaries of current federal employees are considered to be public information and have been since the early 1800s. The latest federal and Postal employee salaries can be searched at FedsDataCenter.com..."
Article Title: White House Wants to Increase Federal Employee Buyout Payments
Snippet of Article: "...VSIP’s $25,000 cap has been in place since it was first enacted in 1993. The Defense pilot program came in part because of the Pentagon’s effort to reduce its headquarters staff by 25 percent by 2020..."
Article Title: Annual COLA Inching Toward 2% for January 2018
Snippet of Article: "...based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) data through April of 2017, the Senior Citizens League (TSCL) estimates that the Social Security COLA for 2018 will be about 2.1% as reported in Investment News. Keep in mind that the actual figure will vary depending on what the inflation data reflect prior to October 2017..."
Article Title: Labor Department Begins Monitoring Federal Employees’ Opioid Use
Snippet of Article: "...The Department of Labor announced today that it has begun procedures aimed at monitoring and managing federal employees’ prescription usage of opioids under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act..."
Article Title: Companies Offering To Buy Your Annuity, Be careful!
Snippet of Article: "...OPM has recently learned of an aggressive marketing push targeting Federal annuitants. Companies are offering a cash payment in exchange for a portion, or all, of your future annuity payments generally much less than their long-term worth, and typically charging high interest rates and fees..."
Article Title: Capitol Police credited with preventing ‘massacre’ by stopping shooter
Snippet of Article: "...Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., who was at bat when the shooting started, also said the scene “would have been a lot worse without Steve Scalise’s detail.” He said they “immediately” began returning fire.
“They were the true heroes, they fired back,” he told “America’s Newsroom..."
Article Title: Feds Arrest NSA Contractor in Leak of Top Secret Russia Document
Snippet of Article: "...She was arrested by the FBI at her home Saturday, according to a senior federal official. She faces a single charge of "gathering, transmitting or losing defense information..."
Article Title: Do you know the answer? FERS Supplement Eligibility
One of our readers questioned us with a very interesting question that we did not have a citable reference to or an answer for. We suggested our reader post the question at the Federal Soup Forum at https://forum.federalsoup.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=77495#post851184. If you think you have the answer, please share it at: https://forum.federalsoup.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=77495#post851184. The question is as follows:
Article Title: President Trump and Republicans Attack Military Veterans by Raping Federal Retirement Programs
In a pitiful and shameful veiled attack on military veterans, Trump and Republicans attempt to rape the federal employee retirement system through budget attacks that would remove the special retirement supplement (SRS) for FERS employees as quick as 2018, leaving employees eligible to retire within two to three years in a quandary as to what to do after already planning their retirements. The federal workforce, Overall, 30.9 percent of all federal employees in fiscal 2015 were veterans, according to the Office of Personnel Management, potentially making veterans one of the largest groups affected by the federal budget change proposals by Trump and Republicans. What is even worse is that Democrat liberals stand silent in this attack on veterans. There is no way any changes to federal retirement should be implemented in any five year period or less. People contemplate retirement calculations for years and make plans for retirement within five years of being eligible. To make radical changes to retirement programs within five years or less is and would be devastating to anyone ...and why are they doing it off-the-backs of military veterans that have faithfully served this great country and continued to do so through public service as federal workers. Federal worker military veterans are a large segment of the population that stood behind and voted for Trump/Republicans because they were supposed to finally help these loyal veterans improve their lot in life after years of faithful service. Instead, Trump and Republicans stab them in the back and then beat them down with a budget plan proposal that would also eliminate cost of living adjustments for current and future FERS employees, and it would cut Civil Service Retirement System COLA adjustments by 0.5 percent...eliminate supplemental payments for FERS employees who retire before Social Security kicks in at age 62, beginning for those who retire in 2018...average of their highest five years of earnings, instead of the highest three years. This effectively would reduce payments for retirees. After months of Republicans being in charge, all we are seeing are attacks on blue collar workers and veterans while politicians protect bankers, banks, investment firms, insurance companies, the petroleum industry, etc. Come on Trump, are you and the republicans we elected really going to slap us all in the face after we stood behind you. Are you really going to destroy the Republican Party just to make yourselves wealthier, while letting Dems laugh in our faces by saying I told you so? that's a great way to get our youth to serve in the military (sarcasm).
Article Title: Trump’s 2018 Budget Reportedly Targets Federal Retirement Programs
Snippet of Article: "...The plan also eliminates cost of living adjustments for current and future FERS employees, and it would cut Civil Service Retirement System COLA adjustments by 0.5 percent...eliminate supplemental payments for FERS employees who retire before Social Security kicks in at age 62, beginning for those who retire in 2018...average of their highest five years of earnings, instead of the highest three years. This effectively would reduce payments for retirees..."
Article Title: Trump Signs Long-Awaited Cyber Executive Order
Snippet of Article: "...The order contains three prioritized sections, with the government’s leading priority being to protect federal networks, Bossert said. It directs government agencies to implement the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework..."
Article Title: Help the NALC Stamp Out Hunger on May 13
Article Title: Is Trump right that pre-existing conditions are covered in the GOP health care bill?
Snippet of Article: "...According to the proposed amendment, states granted a waiver would be allowed to set up high-risk pools or participate in a new federal invisible risk-sharing program to help states reimburse the cost for insurers for covering these consumers. The American Healthcare Act would give states $100 billion over the next decade to help with high-risk pools, according to MacArthur's press release on the amendment.
But the American Medical Association, which is urging Congress to oppose the measure, says the bill provides no guarantee that insurance will be affordable to people with pre-existing conditions..."
