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From Jpl Rebadging

Here is the latest information and updates regarding the rebadging process at JPL.

7/25/2007

• Spread the word: At the HSPD12 Rebadging Meeting yesterday, someone asked if there were a way employees could submit the forms with their personal information to OPM without going through JPL. Randy Aden said individuals have the option of e-mailing him to request permission to bypass the JPL local collectors and work directly with OPM. A question was then asked if an announcement could go out to All Employees and the answer was no; he said he would address this on a case-by-case basis.

6/15/2007

• There was a gross mishandling of HSPD 12 information this week at Ames Research Center.

• • Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Incident

• • Link to SpaceRef.com: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=24526

6/4/2007

• NASA Administrator Mike Griffin hosted an all-hands meeting today at JPL. As usual, he made no introductory statements, and spent the entire meeting fielding questions. The questions were limited almost exclusively to HSPD 12 and global warming.
  • He stated that he will not oppose the HSPD 12 mandate because it is an executive order with the weight of law and he must obey.
  • He has no intention of fighting, delaying, or questioning the order, because lawyers indicate that it is legal. By contrast, he indicated that he is trying to challenge a lawful ITAR rule by pressuring to have the interpretation changed, and he has set up a meeting with Condoleeza Rice to discuss the issue. It seems he only challenges rules he personally doesn't like, and not ones he does, no matter how many good people complain or may lose their jobs.
  • After further questioning, he clarified that he not only was required to follow the HSPD 12 excecutive, but also, he found HSPD 12 and the DoC implementation standards to be "measured and appropriate," and he fully supports them, personally. He said any taxpayer should want to insist that every person accessing federal facilities have this kind of background check.
  • When asked what he should do about the loss of talent JPL may face, he said he was sorry to see them go, but they must go if they won't comply with background checks.
  • He mentioned several times that he first had a background check when he was working on some military thing when he was 18.
  • In response to a question about whether the SF85 is "voluntary," he said it is, because we could quit our jobs if we didn't want to provide the information. "Your job is a privilege, not a right," he said.

6/2/2007

• On monday, June 4, 2007, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will be at JPL. He will host an all-hands meeting in von Karman beginning at 10:30. In the past, he has often not made any prepared statements at all, and simply taken questions from the audience. There may be increased press interest in this meeting, in small part because of the rebadging issue, but even more so because several prominent scientists have called for his resignation after comments he made this past week about global warming.

6/1/2007

• Bad news: Dana Edler, communications specialist at JPL, has indicated verbally that she has heard back from the lawyers regarding earlier requests to modify SF85 in order to protect at least some of our privacy rights. The lawyers have indicated definitively that no modification of SF85 will be allowed, and that a single extraneous comment will invalidate it.

• Amanda Beckman-Hezel informs us that the JPL rebadging program will cost JPL $6 million. This is an unfunded NASA mandate, so it will be funded out of burden funds which could otherwise go to fund new research and technology development, infrastructure improvement (such as buildings and parking), and employee awards. Note, $6 million is not the entire cost of rebadging, that is just the JPL cost. NASA will bear the cost of the background investigations.

• See the of JPL rebadging web site for official information. It is an excellent resource, but remember that it is limited to explaining rules and the "benefits" of rebadging. It contains an extensive 10-section FAQ, but no acknowledgment of any controversy! This contrasts remarkably with the information in the wiki, and the points people have raised at the rebadging information sessions.

5/29/2007

Today, Amanda Beckman-Hezel gave the following updates:

• The fingerprint readers are not ready, and so fingerprints on paper cards will be taken instead. When the electronic fingerprint reader is available, people will need to go back to get their fingerprints taken electronically as well.

• She will try to find out what limitations, if any, there are for the open-ended release form at the end of the SF85. For example, if the investigators want to investigate medical records, do they need another release or does the SF85 release cover everything? She will provide information within a week. In the meantime, people concerned about it can delay filling out the SF85.

• JPLers are supposed to respond in 10 days to the email invitation for the SF85. This is because the account they open is good for 30 days, and they want 20 days to process the package.