WASHINGTON – The Office of Special Counsel took an average of five months to resolve claims by federal employees that their bosses denied them job rights related to their service in the National Guard and reserves, a new report says.

The Government Accountability Office found this month that the special counsel took an average of 145 days to process 59 employee claims over the past four fiscal years. The special counsel’s mission includes investigating cases in which federal employees may have been discriminated against because of their service in the Reserves, the National Guard or other uniformed services.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act prohibits discriminating against workers because of their military service. It ensures that veterans, reservists and members of the National Guard and other uniformed services can return to their civilian jobs – in both government and the private sector – after being absent because of military commitments.

Immigration rules get little support

The White House on Tuesday asked Congress to reject an attempt by Republican leaders in the House to place in an intelligence reorganization bill some anti-illegal immigration measures that Democrats say they won’t support. The House bill would expand the number of aliens subject to quick deportation. It also would force asylum seekers accused by their home countries of being involved in terrorist or guerrilla activities to prove that their race, religion, nationality or political opinion would be a “central reason” for their persecution if deported.

Bill Clinton to campaign for Kerry

Former President Clinton will campaign for Sen. John Kerry early next week in Philadelphia, a senior Democratic official who is familiar with the former president’s plans said Tuesday. Clinton is recovering from heart surgery.

Colorado: Transplant set up online

Doctors who postponed a kidney transplant between two men who met through a private organ donation Web site decided Tuesday to allow the operation to proceed, despite legal and ethical concerns about the surgery. The operation, scheduled today, is believed to be the first transplant arranged through a Web site designed to match organ donors with recipients. Rob Smitty, of Chatanooga, Tenn., will donate a kidney to Bob Hickey of Denver.

Missouri: Commuter jet crashes

A commuter jet crashed in a wooded area near Kirksville late Tuesday night, killing at least five people, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane was believed to have been a Corporate Airlines flight on a regular route from St. Louis to Kirksville. Further details were not immediately available.

Tennessee: Woman dies in storms

Strong storms continuing to surge across the South dumped more than 5 inches of rain in Tennessee on Tuesday, causing flash floods and at least one death when a woman’s car overturned in the heavy rain. Rain also swamped a water treatment plant in Waynesboro. Officials said residents were not affected, but water from other sources was being delivered to hospitals and nursing homes.

Georgia: Small plane crash kills 2

A small plane clipped an Atlanta auto-body shop and crashed and burned in a parking lot Tuesday near the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., killing both people aboard. The victims were identified as pilot John Ingram, 71, and his wife, 67-year-old Rae Ingram, of Nokomis, Fla.