Friday federal headlines – December 19, 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 members to the Senior Executive Service have a new mentoring program. The Office of Personnel Management is launching the Governmentwide Situational Mentoring Program for the Senior Executive Service. It pairs new SESers with more experienced members of the service. Interested members should contact their agency’s Executive Resources office. (CHCOC)
  • The Office of Personnel Management is notifying nearly 50,000 federal employees their identities may have been exposed to hackers. The affected employees were in a system owned by KeyPoint Government Solutions, a security background check contractor. OPM officials said they don’t have conclusive evidence the breach resulted in loss of data. They say the warning comes from an abundance of caution. Notified employees will receive free credit monitoring if they wish. OPM’s own systems were breached by Chinese hackers in March. A breach in August at another security check contractor exposed the identities of 25,000 Homeland Security Employees. (Federal News Radio )
  • IRS commissioner John Koskinen said taxpayers will feel the effects of cuts to the IRS budget for 2015. He said the agency is likely to be slower to process returns and issue refunds. Koskinen said half the people who call an IRS hotline won’t get through. He’s considering short employee furloughs to save money. He imposed a hiring freeze and eliminated overtime. Congress cut the IRS budget by $346 million for fiscal 2015. Koskinen said that when a 1 percent federal pay raise is figured in, the IRS shortfall is closer to $600 million. (AP)
  • President Barack Obama appointed a new task force to recommend police practices. The goal of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing is to improve relations between officers and the public. It will look at how to create accountability and transparency among law enforcement. The group will also look at how federal agents can work with state and local communities on best practices. The task force will report back to the President in March and terminate 30 days later. Ron Davis, director of the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services Office, will be the group’s executive director. (White House)
  • The Army restored full benefits for captains who were being forced to retire. An earlier policy said captains would retire with sergeants’ benefits. But the Army changed its policy and said captains can retire at their current ranks. The New York Times reports the change could mean $1 million more in benefits over a lifetime for 120 officers. Army Secretary John McHugh said the issue is one of “fundamental fairness.” The Army cut nearly 1,200 captains this summer as part of a post-war drawdown. The eventual goal is to shrink the force to 450,000 troops. (New York Times)
  • Veterans Affairs is among the first agencies to turn on the latest cybersecurity tool available to federal agencies. Einstein Three Accelerated, or E3A, is a managed service offered by Internet service providers through the Homeland Security Department. Century Link recently became the first contractor qualified to deliver E3A. For Veterans Affairs, signing up is a way to get around persistent cyber weaknesses that have caused data breaches and criticism from Congress. VA failed its most recent annual cybersecurity audit for the 16th year in a row. A Homeland Security cyber officials says 25 percent of federal employees are now working at agencies protected by E3A. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Pentagon’s improvised bomb detecting unit spied on contractors then denied doing so. That’s according to the Defense Inspector General, acting on a whistleblower tip. The Wall Street Journal reports, the IG looked into the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. It found the group gathered intelligence on American contractors working in South Asia. It aided in the rescue mission to free Sgt. Beau Bergdahl. And members used fake identities to gather information in Afghanistan. All of these activities exceeded its authority. The IG said the denials to investigators were the most troubling. It recommends the Pentagon more closely delineate the bomb unit’s responsibilities. (Wall Street Journal)
  • A provision in the 2015 spending bill will allow federal abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers. The Washington Post reports the legislation extends abortion coverage in cases of rape, incest and life endangerment. That means Peace Corps volunteers will be able to receive the same assistance as female service members, paid Peace Corps employees and several other federal employees. Federal abortion assistance for the volunteers had been banned for 35 years. Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet called the legislation an important step forward. (Washington Post)
  • Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are working to make robots more energy efficient. Sandia said the project will help robots better respond to emergencies or disasters. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is supporting the project. The robots will have legs to help them navigate different terrains. They’ll also have better endurance and be able to operate for longer periods of time. Right now, most disaster response robots have a battery life of only 10 to 20 minutes. One of Sandia’s robots will be on display at DARPA’s Robotics Challenge Finals next June. (Sandia)

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