Monday federal headlines – February 9, 2015

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.

• At the Homeland Security Department, 30,000 employees will be furloughed if Congress does not pass a full budget for the department. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said the department won’t be able to fund new grants for state, local and law enforcement agencies if funding dries up. The current continuing resolution runs out Feb. 27. (Federal News Radio)
• Accenture is acquiring IT contractor Agilex. Accenture made about $30 billion in revenue last year. Details of the transaction are not yet released. Federal News Radio)
• Fewer than half of current Senior Executive Service members say they would join the service today. Federal News Radio surveyed 152 SES members about their opinions of the Service. One-third say they’re not sure if they would join if offered the chance. (Federal News Radio)
• A Senate committee approved legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act. The bipartisan bill received a unanimous vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would limit the circumstances when federal agencies can withhold information and documents from the public. It would give additional authority to the Office of Government Information Services, which helps mediate Freedom of Information Act disputes. The bill’s authors include Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Leahy said the bill was the product of careful negotiations. He said it reflects input from the Obama administration as well as open government advocates. The bill now goes to the full Senate. (Federal News Radio)
• Homeland Security officials are starting to warn about the consequences of a lapse in funding. Secretary Jeh Johnson said 30,000 employees would be furloughed immediately. He said grants would dry up for emergency manager salaries in every state. FEMA chief Craig Fugate said a funding lapse would have a major impact on its ability to assist state, local and tribal public safety agencies. A stalemated Congress has until the end of February to pass a full year budget for the Department. The Senate is in recess next week. At issue is disagreement over whether to fund activities related to President Barack Obama’s recent orders on dealing with illegal immigrants. (Federal News Radio)
• The Postal Service sees a 4.3 percent boost in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. That’s due in part to a record number of package deliveries over the holiday season. But the Postal Service still lost $754 million that quarter. Postmaster General Megan Brennan said despite losses, the outlook is brighter for the agency. She said the growth in package deliveries shows the agency has the ability to gain new customers. (Federal News Radio)
• Pentagon employees can now securely chat online and send instant messages. The Defense Information Systems Agency created a new online collaboration tool. Defense employees with a common access card or other authorized access can use the Defense Collaboration Services. The way it works: An employee with access makes an account on the the service and can host a conference or chat. Karl Kurz, program manager for the tool, said the service is an easy and secure way for co- workers around the world to exchange information. DISA started testing the tool in October. (DoD)
• The 2015 National Security Strategy would end sequestration cuts. In the plan, President Barack Obama said the across-the-board cuts threaten the effectiveness of the military. He wants troops to be the best trained and equipped in the world. The strategy includes working with U.S. allies to fight al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Under the plan, the Defense Department will invest in areas such as cyber, space and intelligence. The strategy also outlines an agenda to prevent and respond to threats like Ebola. (White House)
• The Homeland Security Department has established three hotlines for illegal immigrants. They’re for people who think their rights under the Obama administration’s November immigration orders have been violated. The Washington Times reports the hotlines connect to the Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and Citizenship and Immigration Services. A Homeland Security spokeswoman said a memo about the hotlines is to make sure stakeholders know where to go for information. But the Border Patrol Council said the administration is inviting complaints and ridicule against officers. The Union called on the administration to spend more time defending the officers who defend the nation and less time promoting what it calls extreme agendas of pro-illegal-immigration organizations. (Washington Times)
• Crowded skies and the rise of unfriendly nations as space powers are threatening the United States military dominance in space. That’s according to Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command. He spoke at an Air Force Association seminar. He noted a recent, successful launch by Iran, and China’s drive to put up more satellites. Such actors could use satellites to spread propaganda and interfere with operations of other satellites. Haney said the increasing number of satellites and space junk also threaten Stratcom assets. Some 1,200 hundred satellites orbit the earth. But hundreds of thousands of tracked and untracked objects in the same orbits pose threats of collision. (DoD)
• The union representing U.S. Park Police has renewed its warning about under- staffing. A letter from Ian Glick, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police labor committee, went to Park Service Director Jon Jarvis. It warned the Park Service doesn’t have enough officers to respond to an F-I warning for more park security. Glick also said officers are under-equipped. The Park Service Police are responsible for the Mall in Washington, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, and areas near the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. (Scribd)

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