December 23, 2011

NSPE Comments on Federal Locality Pay Program
NSPE submitted comments on the 2013 federal locality pay program at the request of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM solicits comments from NSPE annually, when the agency must prepare a congressionally mandated report to the president that compares pay rates for federal employees with rates paid to non-federal workers in each locality. The locality pay program provides federal employees with pay adjustments in areas where surveys have shown that the pay disparity between federal and non-federal workers is greater than 5%. The program's goal is to narrow the pay gap between federal and non-federal workers.
 
NSPE believes that federally employed engineers must be compensated in a way that is comparable to the private sector to enable federal agencies to recruit and retain the most qualified engineers. Without adequate federal engineering expertise, the infrastructure, energy, and national security requirements of our technologically dependent nation will suffer. Read NSPE's issue brief "Comparable Professional Compensation for Federal Engineers" here.

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December 9, 2011

White House Releases Inventory of Federal STEM Programs
The Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Portfolio, a White House report cataloging all federal investments in STEM education, found that federal agencies are investing $3.4 billion in 252 STEM education programs, with only modest overlap in investments and no duplication in programs. The investments represent less than 1% of the $1 trillion the U.S. spends annually on education. The report, mandated by the America COMPETES Act, is a first step in formulating a five-year strategic plan to improve federal STEM education efforts.

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December 7, 2011

NSPE Urges Legislative Action to Revive Design and Construction Industry
NSPE signed on to a joint letter with the American Institute of Architects, American Council of Engineering Companies, Associated General Contractors of America, American Subcontractors Association, and other industry organizations asking Congress and the president to enact legislation that would help create jobs in the design and construction industry. The industry accounts for 5.7% of the Gross Domestic Product and employs more than seven million Americans who design, construct, and maintain the infrastructure on which the U.S. economy depends. Reviving demand for construction, particularly in the private sector, is essential to sustaining broader economic growth.

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