President signs $516 billion omnibus spending bill

President Bush signed the $516 billion omnibus spending bill covering 11 of 12 fiscal 2008 spending bills on Wednesday, setting a 3.5 percent average civilian employee pay increase, boosting retirement benefits for Customs and Border Protection officers and enhancing the ability of federal employees to compete for their jobs against private firms.

Federal employee groups praised the legislation, passed by the House on Dec. 17, saying it provided important protections to federal employees.

"These important provisions ensure that federal agencies can be competitive with the private sector in the battle to recruit and retain in public service talented, dedicated women and men," said National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers said spending levels imposed by the administration were inadequate, but praised Congress for preserving NASA's budget and clarifying that fees from the H-1B visa program must be directed toward training U.S. scientists and engineers.

"We can be comforted by the fact that Congress is working diligently to minimize any long-term harm to our government and economy from the failed policies of the past seven years," said IFPTE President Gregory Junemann. "We all await a soon-to-be-realized changing of the guard when America's many budgetary problems, along with those issues important to American workers, can once again be properly addressed through good-faith political dialogue."

American Federation of Government Employees President John Gage praised a provision of the omnibus bill, sponsored by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., that requires the government to rehire Federal Protective Service agents and hailed a move to cut funding for the Homeland Security Department's new personnel system. He also called attention to the section of the legislation that set the conditions for job competitions.

"AFGE also applauds Congress for making significant reforms to the privatization process, including the exclusion of health care and retirement costs from the contracting out cost comparison process in all non- Defense Department agencies, the establishment of appeal rights for all federal employees, the prohibition against the Office of Management and Budget from telling agencies to conduct privatization studies, and the creation of a pilot project to track the cost of service contracts and the number of employees working to carry them out," the union said.

In a statement announcing he had signed the bill, President Bush said he would continue to call for restrictions on government spending.

"There is still more to be done to rein in spending," Bush said. "In February I will submit my budget proposal for fiscal 2009, which will once again restrain spending, keep taxes low, and continue us on a path toward a balanced budget."