Comptroller General David Walker said Monday that general counsel is expected to respond by the end of the week to a letter he received Friday accusing him of interfering in unionization efforts at the Government Accountability Office.[IMGCAP(1)]

Specifically citing “disparaging and questionable statements” made by Walker against the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, attorney Gregory McGillivary wrote that Walker is in violation of the legal requirement of the agency to stay quiet during unionization efforts.

The group is leading a unionization effort at the GAO. In the letter, McGillivary specifically cited an article published on govexec.com, in which Walker is quoted as saying the union is “way ahead of themselves” in the campaign, and that he will present his “views on the advantages and disadvantages of unionization.”

This could constitute an unfair labor practice, McGillivary wrote.

Walker dismissed the claims.

“We haven’t violated any laws or rules,” Walker said. “We are very aware of the laws and rules and we are in compliance with them.”

Page Board Completed. The last Congressional Member of the newly revamped House Page Board was named Monday when the office of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (Fla.) would serve as the second Republican on the panel.

Brown-Waite joins fellow GOP Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) and Democratic Reps. Dale Kildee (Mich.) and Diana DeGette (Colo.) on the board after President Bush signed the House Page Board Revision Act on Friday. Among other changes, the bill added a second minority spot to the panel to make it a partisan-neutral body.

Brown-Waite said she approached Boehner about joining the page board in the wake of last fall’s scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.).

At the time, she said, “there were some Members that wanted to get rid of the page program. I wasn’t one of them. I said ‘Let’s improve it.’ So I guess this is following up on my views on whether or not to continue the page board.”

— Elizabeth Brotherton and John McArdle