Recent news stories in USA Today and the Washington Examiner have focused on the high (compared to the private sector) average salary of federal workers, and a big jump in the number of employees making $100,000 or more.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) is leading the hunt for answers to the population explosion in the 6-figure club. He's ranking member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

In the past, Congress often took up the issue of "grade creep." That was the gradual upward movement of the average grade in nearly all federal agencies.

Defenders said it was nothing creepy about grade creep. They said that the average grade kept going up as the government transitioned from an army of clerical workers to a predominately professional organization.

Opponents said agencies were using (and overdoing) promotions as a way to give workers bigger raises than Congress and the administration intended. As in if you can't give somebody a pay raise, give them a promotion to a higher salaried grade.

The new effort is aimed at what one member calls the "explosive" jump in high-paid feds in a short period of time. As in since the Obama administration took over. Some (mostly Republican) suspect the increase is the result of using some funds intended to fight the recession and create jobs which were instead used for bonuses or to create higher-paying positions for selected federal workers.

Barton has asked nine agencies to give him a list showing the number of employees they have, how many new people they hired in calendar/fiscal 2009, how many workers earn $100,000 or more, the average pay of their SES corps and a list of every employee involved in Recovery Act programs, including those who handle or approve grants. In other words how much end-the-recession money is going out the door, who's handling it and where (and when) did the dispensers come from?

Departments and agencies required to supply the information are NRC, FTC, CPSC, EPA, FCC, and the Departments of Treasury, HHS, Commerce and Energy.

Look Who's Talking Department

Yesterday on our Your Turn with Mike Causey radio show Jessica Klement of the Federal Managers Association said that many congressional staffers make more than $100,000 including, she said, several on Rep. Barton's staff.

Retiree Tax Rebate

Federal retirees who did NOT get the $250 stimulus payment that went to Social Security recipients last year are eligible to file for refundable $250 tax credit now, for their 2009 federal tax year. Dan Adcock, legislative director of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees told Your Turn listeners that the Senate (in a 47-50 vote) shot down a proposal to repeat the 2009 payment and tax credit this year. He said NARFE will keep pressuring Congress for both payments. To listen to his explanaton, click here.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

Nearly Useless Factoid
by Suzanne Kubota

Or rather what is hopefully a completely useless factoid for Federal Report readers: when being tortured, the CIA recommends the use of Ensure Plus as a liquid diet so as not to choke on... well, let's just say "not choke."

And thanks to Jeff in the Rockies who points out the yotta is 10²⁴, so would be "10 to the twelfth times ten to the twelfth" and therefore a trillion trillion. "Ten to the twenty-seventh is a thousand times that number. That would be the hella, I guess because its a hella-va big number." And he's absolutely right. There's a reason I play the lottery with such unwaivering faith.