Monday federal headlines – September 8, 2014

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows each day. Our headlines are updated twice per day — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — with the latest news affecting federal employees and contractors.

• The Office of Personnel Management received about 1,300 more retirement claims last month than expected. OPM also processed slightly more claims than it planned. It has just over 13,000 claims in its inventory. (Federal News Radio)
• General Services Administration Chief Financial Officer Mike Casella is switching jobs. He said he’s working with the Office of Management and Budget and Treasury Department to focus on the President’s Management Agenda. Casella said he’ll stay as the CFO until GSA hires a replacement. (Federal News Radio)
• Members of Congress return to Capitol Hill starting today. They’ll have a short time to agree on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to adjourn the Senate Sept. 23. Besides the budget, he wants to hold votes on the minimum wage and campaign contribution limits. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wants to settle a split among Republicans over whether to re-authorize the Export-Import Bank. Also in play is a vote on whether to continue preventing state and local governments from taxing access to the Internet. A Republican source told the Associated Press, an amendment to extend the memorandum might be added to the spending bill. (Associated Press)
• With Congress only meeting for a short September session, the White House sent a list of requests. The administration wants spending flexibility for the Homeland Security Department as it copes with the large influx of Central American children arriving at the southern border. It also asked to let the Department of Health and Human Services continue spending at high levels to house the unaccompanied minors. Obama asked for $250 million for the Defense Department to remove unexploded shells in Afghanistan. The request also presses Congress to extend the charter of the Export-Import bank. (Associated Press)
• President Barack Obama responded to criticism over a lack of strategy for dealing with the terrorist group Islamic State. Obama said he’ll outline his strategy on Tuesday. He’ll reveal it first to congressional leaders at the White House. He’ll give a speech to the nation Wednesday evening, the night before the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Lawmakers of both parties said they’ll be looking for specifics. The State Department posted a YouTube video designed to foil recruiting tactics of radical Islamic groups. The graphic video shows ISIS brutality and concludes with the words, “Think Again Turn Away.” (Associated Press)
• U.S. warplanes attacked the Islamic State in Iraq over the weekend. Central Command officials said a mix of fighters and bombers conducted four air strikes near Haditha, site of a large hydroelectric dam. The strikes destroyed five ISIL Humvees, an armed vehicle and a checkpoint. They also damaged a bunker. The Haditha Dam is second only to the Mosul Dam in producing electricity in Iraq. A single air strike was conducted near the Mosul Dam. Since Aug. 8, Central Command has conducted 138 air strikes across Iraq. (Defense Department)
• President Barack Obama said helping contain the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is a U.S. national security priority. He said the U.S. military will help set up isolation units there. Troops will provide security for public health workers arriving to help. He asked Congress for another $30 million to help with expenses incurred by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The National Institutes of Health published research about the vaccine it’s been testing on humans this month. It said tests on monkeys showed the vaccine was effective. But it wore off unless the chimps received a booster shot made from a different formula. (Associated Press)

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