Wednesday federal headlines – October 29, 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 General Services Administration is exchanging its old, underutilized buildings for construction services from the District of Columbia. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said the District is providing construction services near the site of the new Homeland Security Department Headquarters at Saint Elizabeths. (House)
• An Army two-star general and 11 of his staff are in isolation at a base in Italy. They’ve returned from West Africa as the first U.S. troops to deal with the Ebola crisis. Major Gen. Darryl Williams, commander of the U.S. response, and some headquarters staff were in Liberia to begin coordinating the U.S. activities. They returned to Vicenza, Italy to be greeted by Italian security officials in full hazmat suits. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Ordierno had notified all Army members working on the Ebola front they’d be isolated for 21 days after withdrawing. The Obama administration has resisted efforts to order isolation or quarantine for civilan returning from Ebola work in West Africa. (Federal News Radio)
• Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson ordered a beef up of security at certain federal buildings. He declineed to specify which buildings, or what the added measures would be. He called it a precautionary step. The move comes after a Muslim extremist in Ottawa killed a soldier at a ceremonial guardpost and opened fire in Canada’s Parliament building. The Federal Protective Service guards some 9,500 federal facilities visited by more than 1 million people daily. (Federal News Radio)
• The Obama administration is scrambling to show it’s in charge of the Ebola response. A White House spokesman said the President’s appointed Ebola czar, Ron Klain, is busy behind the scenes. He is said to be working with all agencies involved and having an impact. But he’s made no public statements. The Pentagon, New Jersey and New York State have taken firmer steps to isolate potential Ebola cases than the federal government. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie claimed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is backing up his strategy of quarantining people. Some public health law experts said CDC guidance came out a week too late. (Federal News Radio )
• The Securities and Exchange Commission is deep into an investigation of another federal agency. It is looking to see whether Centers for Medicare and Medicaid employees leaked information to stock traders. The Wall Street Journal reports the case centers on Dendreon Corporation. It made an expensive prostate cancer drug for which CMS was considering limiting coverage. The CMS official in charge told three colleagues to keep the discussions private. But Dendreon’s stock dropped 10 percent the next day. The incident took place in 2010. Sources told the Journal that dozens of subpoenas have gone to policy research firms, traders and federal officials. The SEC is said to have interviewed dozens of CMS employees. It’s one of three investigations sources said are aimed at CMS. (Wall Street Journal)
• A House committee chairman subpoenaed former Chief Technology Officer Todd Park. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) demanded Park testify about his role in HealthCare.gov. Smith wanted answers on the former CTO’s oversight and security of the health care website. He said the White House refused multiple requests from the committee for Park to testify. The subpoena calls Park to appear before the House subcommittee on oversight on Nov. 19. (House Committee on Science, Space and Technology )
• Defense Department travelers will get new and more secure credit cards starting in January. The travel card holders will use chip and pin cards. The credit cards have an embedded chip instead of a magnetic strip. That means customers don’t have to hand their cards to a merchant. And instead of signing, users enter a four-digit PIN. DoD started a pilot program in February to test the new cards with 600 travelers. It expects all Defense travelers to have chip and pin cards by late next summer. (DoD)
• NASA officials said their strategy of using contractors to lift payloads into space won’t change. The investigation into the case of last night’s rocket explosion at the Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia begins today. Facility Director Bill Wrobel said crews were to let fires burn out overnight. Officials said no one was injured in the blast. The doomed Antares Rocket was operated by Orbital Sciences, one of two NASA contractors sending materials to the International Space Station. Orbital executive vice president Frank Culbertson told employees to avoid speculation or talking to reporters. NASA officials said the Space Station crew will be fine without the cargo that was to arrive Sunday. But crew members will have to wait a bit longer for crab cakes. (Federal News Radio)
• For more than 10 years, one Army official has allowed others to believe he has a Ph.D. Russell Richardson served as an Army intelligence contractor and a science adviser to the Army’s intelligence and security command. He was also the architect of a failed effort to fix the Army’s Distributed Common Ground System, a troubled intelligence program. Richardson said he never planned to “misrepresent his credentials.” But he also said he didn’t “actively go out and correct it.” Richardson left government in July. (Federal News Radio)

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