5/12/10: In a bipartisan action, a key House committee today approved a resolution commending federal employees for their contributions to the nation and supporting the goals of protecting and improving their safety and security.

The Sense of the House Resolution, H.R. 1187, was introduced by Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) shortly after the tragic attack of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Austin, Texas. It is in line with the call of NTEU National President Colleen Kelley for public officials to proudly support federal employees and the work they do and take a more assertive posture against rhetoric that denigrates federal workers and actions that threaten their safety.

“Federal employees deserve to have a real sense they are secure in their physical well-being in their day-to-day work of serving the public,” Kelley said.
She added: “I applaud the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for this bipartisan action. It is important that leaders not only recognize the contributions of federal employees, but that they emphasize for the public the direct connection between the efforts of the federal workforce and the quality of life in our nation.” In particular, she said, NTEU appreciates the leadership of Rep. Moran on this matter.

Committee approval of the resolution came during Public Service Recognition Week, a time set aside to recognize the contributions of federal employees to the well-being of the country. The event runs through Sunday. The resolution states that “federal employees are entitled to expect a reasonable degree of personal safety and security while carrying out their duties.” The resolution concludes by stating that the House of Representatives:

1) expresses the Nation’s appreciation for the outstanding contributions made by federal employees to the United States;
2) supports the goal of protecting the safety and security of our federal employees; and
3) urges that the government seek ways to improve the safety and security of our federal employees.

In addition to the Feb. 18 suicide plane attack on offices of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Austin, Texas, H.R. 1187 cites a later shooting on March 4 at the Pentagon which is the fourth attack or security scare at a federal building thus far in 2010.

The Austin attack, in which a private plane was flown deliberately into the office building, took the life of veteran IRS employee Vernon Hunter, making it part of more than 1,200 attacks on IRS employees between 2001 and 2008, the resolution said. It added that the Justice Department filed more than 277 cases in fiscal 2009 alone relating to attacks on federal employees.

In congressional testimony in mid-March, just weeks after the Austin attack, President Kelley took note of the comments of some public officials expressing sympathy for the man responsible. She said it is vital to hold public officials to a responsible level of discourse when it comes to the federal government and those who work for it.

“We need to be keenly aware of the potential impact of inflammatory rhetoric,” she said. “We also need to elevate the safety and security of federal employees at work.”