Friday federal headlines – October 24, 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 read...

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 Veterans Affairs Department fired the director of the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System. The VA made the decision after its Office of Accountability Review reviewed the case. Dr. Robin Jackson is stepping in as acting director until the VA finds a replacement. (Veterans Affairs)
  • Federal employees’ opinions of senior management have fallen to a five- year low. The results of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey are out from the Office of Personnel Management. Positive responses for 32 of 77 questions are down this year, most by about a percentage point. Nearly 90 percent of federal employees said the work they do is important. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Office of Special Counsel says the Army engaged in gender-identity discrimination. Tamara Lusardi is a transgender civilian employee of the Army. OSC says she saw a significant change in working conditions after announcing her transition. The Army called Lusardi by her birth name and male pronouns. The service also improperly restricted Lusardi’s restroom usage. OSC called the acts frequent, pervasive and humiliating. The Army agreed to provide diversity and sensitivity training to supervisors. It’s already letting Lusardi use the women’s restroom. (OSC )
  • The Postal Service got the go-ahead to test grocery delivery. The Postal Regulatory Commission approved the agency’s proposal, sent in September. The Postal Service will conduct a market test of its Customized Delivery program. The program caters to customers who need an early-morning snack. It will deliver groceries and other prepackaged goods, mostly between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. The Postal Service hopes grocery delivery will bring in money for the cash-strapped agency. It estimates the program will generate between $10 million to $50 million per year. The Postal Regulatory Commission said it’s too early to know how much money the program will make. (PRC)
  • A surveillance technology the Army uses in Afghanistan could soon provide an eye in the sky over the Mexican border. Lockheed Martin said it’s working with the Homeland Security Department to evaluate whether an aerostat would be useful to Customs and Border Protection. Lockheed’s aerostat is a helium-filled balloon that floats on a tether at up to 5,000 feet in the air. The blimp-like balloon can carry 1,000 pounds worth of cameras and other sensors, and see for hundreds of miles in any direction. The Army’s Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors office in Aberdeen Proving Grounds runs the 66-unit aerostat program. The first one began service in 2004. (Lockheed Martin)
  • The Health and Human Services Department reshuffled in response to the Ebola virus. Karen DeSalvo will become the agency’s acting assistant secretary for health. She will leave her current job as national coordinator for health information technology. The Hill reports her new position will play a large role in global health and disaster response. DeSalvo will help Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell in the department’s Ebola efforts. She replaces Wanda Jones, who has served in the position since 2009. DeSalvo helped lead the public health response during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (The Hill)
  • Two senators are preparing a bill to raise federal biomedical research spending by $1 billion over 10 years. The Wall Street Journal reports Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have discussed their proposal with medical industry executives. The budget of the National Institutes of Health has come into question during the Ebola crisis. Agency officials said budget tightening held back development of a vaccine. Aides tell the Journal the senators hope Congress will take up the bill after the November elections. (The Wall Street Journal )
  • The Homeland Security Department’s acting undersecretary for management is leaving after 24 years in government. Chris Cummiskey told his staff he plans to pursue opportunities in the private sector. Cummiskey took over after Rafael Borras left in February. His own successor, Russell Deyo, is likely to be confirmed by the Senate next month. Federal Times reports the Federal Trade Commission hired Ashkan Soltani as its chief technology officer. Soltani has been a technical expert for several state attorneys general and a reporter for the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. He replaced Latanya Sweeney, who returned to Harvard University’s Data Privacy Lab. Federal News Radio )
  • Federal employees can contribute more money to their Thrift Savings Plan accounts next year. They’ll be able to invest up to $18,000. That’s an increase of $500 from this year. The catch-up contribution limit also goes up by $500. The limit applies to TSP investors who are at least 50 years old and make the maximum investment. It’s now $6,000. The IRS said it’s changing the limits because the cost-of-living adjustment will go up next year. It increased to from 1.5 percent to 1.7 percent. (IRS)
  • The General Services Administration is setting up a program office to help agencies figure out shared services. The effort is led by Dominic Sales, GSA’s acting associate administrator in the office of governmentwide policy. The Chief Information Officers Council requested that GSA establish a shared services office. The White House has been trying to establish a governmentwide marketplace of shared services at which agencies can shop. GSA’s new office will help agencies’ tech staffs understand the policy issues connected with shared services. (Federal News Radio)
  • Two companies are testing 3D printing to make rocket engines. Dynetics and Aerojet Rocketdyne are working on a new engine for the Pentagon. The agency wants to replace the Russian engine that blasts the Atlas Five Rocket into orbit. NextGov reports, the companies are using 3D printing to build some of the engine’s parts. Usually it takes about 15 months to build a rocket’s pre-burner, which generates hot gas used to power the engine. But with 3D printing, Dynetics said it built it in just 15 days. The engines may also be used for future NASA space launches. (NextGov )

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