Federal and postal workers make up a high percentage of reserve and guard units in many places like Washington-Baltimore and other big federal job centers. Up until now, being called to active duty to serve their country has resulted in a pay cut while they are in uniform for many feds whose civilian jobs pay more than they can earn in the military.

Troops from National Guard and Reserve units make up a large percentage of our stretched-tight military forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the world. Most Americans aren't aware of their participation unless they're related to a Guardsman or live in a small community where Guard or Reserve units have been called up.

The new no-pay-cut effort will be important as more Guard units are called to active duty to help out with patrol duties along the Mexican border. Congress is looking at an expansion of that program right now.

It's all changing thanks to the Omnibus Appropriations Act approved by Congress last week. It is one of the legislative "riders" in the stop-gap spending bill to keep agencies operating even though their budgets have not been approved for the current fiscal year.

The language says a fed who is "absent from a position...with the federal government in order to perform active duty...shall be entitled, while serving on active duty, to receive for each pay period described...the amount of basic pay which would otherwise have been payable to such employees for such pay period if such employee's civilian employment with the government had not been interrupted by that service..."

In layman's language: Pay the man or woman!

While at The Washington Post I was a member of the National Guard and later the Army reserve for many years. Each year we had to do two weeks of military training. Although the Post was not obligated to do so, it not only paid the difference between my civilian and military salary, but it also did not charge me vacation time for those sessions which were, trust me, no vacation. The Post didn't have to be that generous, but it was and I've always been grateful for that.

Setting up the new saved pay system is easier said than done. Most civilians are paid biweekly. The military tends to pay monthly. Also officials want to make sure that the mobilized feds get the actual pay differential between their civilian job and their military rank, and aren't overpaid.

Stay tuned...

Rockefeller/Trump yes: Madoff/Dillinger, no!

Suzanne Kubota, fun-loving but fearless editor of our "Nearly Useless Factoid" section, recently cited a Swedish study which said that people who changed their names often had an increase in income. This prompted reader Stan the Man to asked for more detail? Like which names work best?

"Any name change suggestions other than Rockefeller or Trump?" he asks. He also said "You wrote about some who want to be able to buy other mutual funds in the TSP even if they have to pay higher fees. REITs have been requested in the past before real estate headed south. I'm sure some resented that they couldn't invest their TSP with Bernie Madoff (that is until Bernie made off with all the money)."

Nearly Useless Factoid
by Suzanne Kubota

Stun Guns May Cause Seizures. So there ya go then.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com