Inner Circle Taking More of C.D.C. Bonuses
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: September 17, 2006
Top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention received premium bonuses in recent years
at the expense of scientists and others who perform
much of the agency's scientific work, agency records
show.
Those inside the office of the centers' director,
Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, have benefited the most,
the records show.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, The New York
Times requested records of all cash awards of $2,500
or greater granted to current and former C.D.C.
employees from 2000 to mid-2006. The most recent
awards are dated July 21.
Dr. Gerberding, whose leadership of the agency is
the subject of an inquiry by the Senate Finance
Committee, was not immediately available for
comment, said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the
centers.
>From 2002 through mid-2006, William H. Gimson III,
the agency's chief operating officer, received
bonuses totaling $147,863, which included seven cash
awards of more than $2,500. Mr. Gimson's bonuses
were about twice the amount granted to any other
C.D.C. employee, the agency's records show.
Mr. Skinner said Mr. Gimson was not immediately
available for comment.
Mr. Gimson's deputy, Barbara W. Harris, received six
premium bonuses of $2,500 or more from 2002 through
mid-2006 for a total of $84,894, agency records
show.
Mr. Skinner said Ms. Harris was also not available
for comment.
Mr. Gimson and Ms. Harris are part of the federal
government's Senior Executive Service, a cadre of
top civil servants whose salaries are generally
among the highest in government. The salaries of Mr.
Gimson and Ms. Harris were not included in the
records requested by The Times.
The increase in bonuses to these officials was part
of a decision by the Bush administration to make
transformation of the management of the centers a
top priority, said Glen Nowak, chief of media
relations at the centers. "If we want to retain
people, we need to recognize them," Mr. Nowak said
Friday in an interview. "We are operating in a
highly competitive environment."
Before Dr. Gerberding's appointment, members of the
C.D.C. director's inner circle rarely received
premium bonuses of $2,500 or more. After her
arrival, in July 2002, such cash awards increased,
the records obtained by The Times show.
In 2000, officials in the office of the director,
Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, received bonuses totaling
$30,000, which included eight premium bonuses of
$2,500 or more. The bonuses represented 0.4 percent
of all bonuses granted within the centers that year.
In 2005, the records show that officials in Dr.
Gerberding's office received 60 premium bonuses
totaling $515,075, or about 4 percent of all bonuses
granted within the centers.
Because bonus money is limited - about 1.5 percent
of the total personnel budget, Mr. Skinner said -
the growing share of premium bonuses for Dr.
Gerberding's closest advisers has meant less money
is available for some scientists and other workers.
In an e-mail message on Friday afternoon, Dr.
Gerberding informed workers at the centers that
information about the agency's bonus program might
soon be made public.
"It is important to remember one thing, though: that
those of you who have received a monetary award, or
will in the future, received it for your superior
performance and special acts, which merit these
awards," Dr. Gerberding wrote.
The agency's Executive Leadership Board recently
voted to create a committee to review the cash
awards process and address "any shortcomings,"
she wrote.
In addition to those within Dr. Gerberding's inner
circle, the increase in large cash awards within the
centers has mostly benefited employees in the
agency's financial, computer and human resources
departments - not its scientists.
"You have the administration signaling that these
are the areas that they want to see significant
improvements on, and they want that to happen as
quickly as possible," Mr. Nowak said.
The administration also made security a priority,
Mr. Nowak said. He said that helped to explain
$41,485 in premium bonuses given since 2002 to
William T. Porter, the agency's head of security.
"I'm sure Bill Porter's peers in the corporate world
are being paid at a higher level," Mr. Nowak said.
Members of the Public Health Service are not
eligible to receive cash awards, Mr. Nowak said.
That is part of the reason so few scientists appear
among the top recipients of premium bonuses, he
said.
Soon after arriving at the centers, Dr. Gerberding
began a comprehensive reorganization of the agency.
In its wake, many of the agency's senior scientists
and leaders either left or have announced that they
are planning to leave.
The Washington Post and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
have reported on the turmoil at the centers in
articles quoting disgruntled former senior
scientists who said the changes had undermined the
agency.
Five of the six former directors who led the agency
in the past 40 years recently wrote a letter to Dr.
Gerberding expressing concerns over the exodus of
crucial administrative and scientific leaders and
scientists, The Journal-Constitution
reported.
Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and
chairman of the Finance Committee, has announced
that the committee is trying to determine whether
upheaval at the agency has jeopardized its
scientific mission.
In another e-mail message, on Sept. 11, Dr.
Gerberding noted the departures of top agency
leaders and acknowledged that change was difficult.
"I respect those who don't believe these changes are
needed, and I respect even more all those who are
actively and constructively engaged in helping us
find the best way forward," Dr. Gerberding wrote.
Among the other recipients of large cash awards
since 2002 were James D. Seligman, the agency's
chief information officer, who received $62,455 in
premium bonuses; John C. Tibbs, director of the
agency's financial management office, who received
$52,880; and Kimberly S. Lane, a senior adviser to
the Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, who
received $50,565.
None could immediately be reached for comment.
Extracted from website 3/12/2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/washington/17cdc.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=print |
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