Thursday federal headlines – September 18, 2014

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com reade...

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.

  • New doctors and dentists at the Veterans Affairs Department could earn $20,000 to $35,000 more. The VA updated its pay tables as part of the agency’s ongoing effort to attract and recruit more doctors. New pay scales go into effect Nov. 30. Veterans Affairs)
  • The House passed a continuing resolution late at night. The Senate takes up the measure today. If signed by the President, government agencies would be able to operate normally after the end of the fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. The bill lets President Barack Obama’s promised 1 percent pay raise for federal employees proceed. It includes an extra $88 million requested by the administration to battle the ebola virus in Africa. It gives the Export-Import Bank a new lease on life. (Federal News Radio)
  • House members overcame their unease and voted to approve President Barack Obama’s request for backing to train and arm Syrian rebels battling Islamic State militants. It’s a rare bipartisan win for the President. Before voting, members of both parties expressed reservations about the strategy and whether Syrian rebels would be reliable. Now it’s the Senate’s turn to vote. Leaders of both parties said passage of the measure would happen. The House added its approval as an amendment to the continuing resolution funding bill that keeps the government operating past Sept. 30.(Associated Press)
  • The Senate passed a bill that would eliminate or modify 53 annual reports found to be redundant or unnecessary. The Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014 takes aim at reports from agencies from Defense to Agriculture. Eliminated reports addressed timber supply and demand in southeastern Alaska, the reliability of DoD financial statements and the 1930 ban on importing products made with dog or cat fur. The new law aims to save money, as well as the time and effort of government employees. (Congress)
  • China’s military hacked into computer networks of civilian transportation companies hired by the Pentagon. It happened repeatedly, at least nine times. Hackers tried more than 20 times. Those are among the findings of a Senate Armed Services Committee investigation. Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said companies failed to report the breaches, as required by their contracts. He also said federal agencies failed to share the information about the hacks among themselves. The committee report said the Chinese gained logistics and troop movement information. (Associated Press)
  • After three years of leaving it vacant, President Barack Obama plans to nominate someone as deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management. It’s retired Navy Rear Adm. Earl Gay. He is now a senior advise to director Katherine Archuleta. Gay’s final billet before retiring was as commander of the Navy’s recruiting command. Gay is a naval aviator who served for 33 years. He spent two years as commandant of the Naval District of Washington. The last deputy OPM director was Christine Griffin. She left the agency in August 2011. The post requires Senate confirmation. (Federal News Radio)
  • Doctors and dentists with the Veterans Affairs Department have a reason to smile. The VA announced a salary increase of up to $35,000. It’s one part of a nationwide recruitment effort to hire more doctors and improve veterans’ access to care. Newly hired doctors can potentially earn between $20,000 and $30,000 more than current salary ranges. Those in leadership roles would see no changes. The new policy goes into effect on Nov. 30. (GovExec)
  • The Defense Department issued new guidance on Common Access Cards. The interim final rule outlines procedures for component adjudicators, who determine who is eligible for a CAC. The cards provide physical access to DoD facilities, as well as logical or remote access to information systems and networks. The changes clarify conditions that would disqualify a candidate or indicate a reasonable basis to believe the candidate is a risk. The new policy elaborates on previous instruction from the Office of Personnel Management. (Insurance News Net)
  • The Army Intelligence and Security Command awarded $7.2 billion in two global intelligence support contracts. The two indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts cover general and small businesses. The contracts address four areas: intelligence collection and analysis; information operations; support of intelligence operations, facilities and systems; and sustainment services. Among the 21 winners are Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, Pluribus International and E&M Technologies. Each company can compete for task orders with a guaranteed minimum of $5,000 and a maximum of 30 percent of both contracts. (C4ISR)
  • The Commerce Department announced $3 million in grants to support online identify protection projects. Three companies received the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace grants. They are tasked with making it easier to use mobile devices instead of passwords for online identification, minimizing fraud and improving access to state services. The grantees are Atlanta-based GSMA, San Francisco’s Confyrm and MorpheoTrust out of Massachusetts. The grant program was launched by the Obama administration in 2011 and supports collaboration between the public and private sector. (National Institute of Standards and Technology)

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