Federal Employees

WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators agreed yesterday to boost pay for federal employees by an average of 4.8 percent next year, outpacing the 4.4 percent increase proposed by the Clinton administration.Once approved by the full Congress, the raise would be the steepest for federal workers in more than a decade. Advocates say it represents an important step in making up for the slender pay increases forced by the economic hardships of the early 1990s. Even so, the raise would far exceed prevailing measures of inflation of just over 2 percent.

Many federal workers in and around Washington make their home in the Baltimore area, so when two of them get together at a party, they immediately begin swapping commuting strategies. "Invariably, the first question that I get when I say I commute to D.C. is 'Oh, do you take the train?'" said Elaine Papp, a Federal Hill resident who works for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in southeast Washington. "When I say, 'No,' then they say, 'How do you get there?'" How to get "there" is a question thousands of Marylanders must figure out. About 101,370 federal employees in Maryland commute to Washington, according to 2010 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

WASHINGTON -- Officials at the Woodlawn-based Social Security Administration informed employees they do not anticipate furloughs when across-the-board federal budget cuts go into effect, the union that represents many of those workers said Thursday. The announcement came days before $85 billion in budget cuts known as sequestration were expected to take effect on Friday -- cuts that the Obama administration has warned could lead to government-wide furloughs. Acting Social Security Administration commissioner Carolyn Colvin informed employees in a meeting on Thursday that furloughs would be avoided.

Details of financial transactions by members of Congress and thousands of high-level federal workers were supposed to be posted online last month for anyone in the world to see — a key step, supporters of the move said, toward greater transparency in government. What happened instead was President Barack Obama signed a law that once again made the financial information of public employees — useful for identifying insider trading or conflicts of interest — difficult to find.

The federal government has an innovation problem — or does it? The answer depends on whom you ask. Federal employees surveyed over the past three years have had a declining view of government innovation. But that doesn't mean Uncle Sam doesn't have pockets of creativity, as highlighted by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. The bad news first: Less than 40 percent of federal employees felt that creativity and innovation were rewarded in their agency — a 2.5 percentage point drop from 2011.

Florence P. Haseltine knows the power of scientists meeting face to face. The former researcher at the National Institutes of Health notes a list of milestones achieved through networking and collaboration at conferences, such as the deliberations that led to advances that helped slow the spread of HIV. Now Haseltine, former director of the Center for Population Research of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Rockville, worries...

Mika J. Cross, a human resources manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sometimes uses a laptop issued by the agency. But she is far more likely to check email or collaborate with colleagues on one of her two personal computers. As someone who frequently works from home, she finds using her own technology more convenient. "It allows for greater flexibility," said the 39-year-old Waldorf woman, who oversees a program that helps employees balance work and personal commitments.

After a 36-year career with the Postal Service, Yverne "Pat" Moore says she's living the life she started planning two decades ago, filled with church and community service, grandchildren and a trip to the other side of the world. The recently retired Ellicott City woman is part of a wave of workers who are leaving federal employment as baby boomers age out of the workforce and managers offer buyouts to help reduce spending. Those who have waited for the economy to stabilize are also now exiting.

MEET THE CANDIDATES   When Marylanders head to the polls Nov. 6, they will elect members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in addition to casting their ballots for president. Dozens of people are running for a chance to represent the state's voters in Washington. The Baltimore Sun asked all major and third-party candidates to answer questions about pressing policy issues facing the country.   [ 1st Congressional District ] The 1st District was a political bellwether in the past two elections, but was redrawn by the Maryland General Assembly last year and is now more solidly Republican.

John Gage, who has served as president of the American Federation of Government Employees for nearly a decade, said Tuesday he intends to retire later this summer to spend more time with his family. "I have a growing family that I've kind of neglected," Gage, who is 66 and lives in Baltimore, said in a brief interview with The Sun . "I never have been able to really put in perspective the people who love me and the union activities. " As head of the nation's largest federal employee union, Gage has battled with lawmakers and the White House at a particularly difficult time for federal employees.