Your organization at OpenTheBooks.com has been giving oversight to federal payrolls going back to 2007. What can you tell us about the federal employees who are based in Maine?
The federal executive agencies disclose 3,608 employees based in Maine who earned $320 million in salary last year -- that's an average wage of almost $90,000.
The top-paid are doctors at the Togus VA location making $403,000 -- out earning the president.
NATIONALLY: Since 2016, the headcount of VA doctors included from 32,000 to 35,000. However, the number of nurses increased dramatically from 78,000 to 103,000 across America.
Who are the top paid federal employees in Maine and where do they work? Tell us about those VA doctors.
There are 13 VA doctors making $400,000 or more at the Togus VA facility in Augusta. Another 29 make between $350,000 and $400,000. Top paid nurses are making $214,000 and 21 nurses make between $150K and $200K.
At the Portland VA facility, the top-paid doctor made $340,000 last year and the top-paid nurse made $170,000.
Give us a sample of different positions based in Portland, Maine and how much they make?
It's always interesting to know your neighbors:
In Portland, the dental officer at VA makes $203,000; a State Department program analyst made $176,000; the IRS has information tech managers and program managers making $176,000; social security has paralegals making $158,000; FAA has aviation safety administrators making $160,000. There are economists at the Comptroller of the Currency making $160,000.
Are there any problems with transparency? What don't we get to see anymore?
No transparency on federal bonuses. No transparency on federal retirement pensions.
And many of the names of federal employees are now redacted and blanked out. During the Obama administration, they only redacted 2,300 names out of 1.4 million federal employees. Now, the Biden administration is redacting 360,000 names!
For example, only 5 EPA employees are disclosed in the entire state of Maine.
In 2016, the feds disclosed 6,593 employees working in Maine. And, today, we only get to see 3,500.
That's a transparency problem!