Tuesday federal headlines – March 17, 2015

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.

  • The White House is taking advice from a convict. Former CIA director retired Gen. David Petraeus continues to advise the White House on its strategy related to the Islamic State and Iraq. Petraeus pleaded guilty to leaking classified military information to his mistress, who was also his biographer. He then allegedly lied to the FBI about it. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said it makes sense to consult with Petraeus because he’s regarded as expert on security in Iraq. (CNN)
  • House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller says the VA is withholding reports from the panel, and that’s impeding oversight from Congress. Miller said more than a hundred requests for information from the department are outstanding — 63 of those are months past due. The requests include a report on long patient wait times at the VA Phoenix hospital, the center of the agency’s scandal last year. The House committee has also asked for a report on over- medication problems at the VA hospital in Tomah, Wisconsin. Some veterans dubbed the facility “Candy Land” because of how many pills were prescribed. (Federal News Radio)
  • Two departmental inspectors general are trading punches. The Veterans Affairs IG found that a former procurement officer steered non-competitive contracts to a friend’s company. It accuses Iris Cooper of a lack of candor during the investigation. Cooper now works for the Treasury Department. Treasury IG Eric Thorson said the VA charges are unsupported. He said they’re in retaliation for Cooper’s complaint that a supervisor had created a hostile work environment. Maureen Regan wrote the VA report. She calls the Treasury response improper. She said she’ll refer Thorson’s actions to a committee that oversees federal IGs. ( Federal News Radio)
  • After falling for a few years, federal improper payment shot up to a record $125 billion last year. The Government Accountability Office said that’s an increase of $19 billion. White House controller Dave Mader tells a House hearing, the administration has several proposals in the 2016 budget for cutting improper payments. The payments occurred in 22 agencies. But the bulk of them came from three programs, Medicare, Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Together they accounted for $90 billion in improper payments. Mader said the White House wants a larger IRS budget to help it cut tax fraud. (Federal News Radio)
  • The American Civil Liberities Union sues the government over a year-old Freedom of Information Act request. The union wants records related to drone strikes against terror suspects. ACLU said American drone strikes have killed thousands of people abroad, including many children. In a blog post, the union said the strikes raise legal and ethical questions that should be the subject of public debate. It filed FOIA requests with the Defense, State and Justice Departments and the CIA. Some details on drone strikes are classified, but the union said the agencies are withholding basic information. (ACLU/Federal News Radio)
  • An Army directive opens more than 4,000 special operations positions to women. Army Secretary John McHugh signed the directive in late February. Many of the positions are direct combat roles. More than 1,000 women are now assigned to the Army’s Special Operations Command. The Command is reviewing all special operations jobs and assessing how to further integrate women into more roles. (Army)
  • An international research firm finds the U.S. is the world’s leading arms exporter. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said American exports between 2010 and 2014 grew by 23 percent. Nearly a third of all arms exports worldwide in those four years came from the U.S. Russia is second, with 27 percent. The U.S. shipped arms to 94 countries. About half went to countries in Asia and Oceania and a third went to countries in the Middle East. (Defense News)
  • House Republicans are considering adding tens of billions of dollars to the Pentagon’s 2016 overseas contingency operations fund. The White House has requested $51 billion for warfare operations in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Aides to Republican leaders said their budget plan could include up to $90 billion for the OCO accounts. That would be their tactic for getting around scheduled sequestration cuts that Congress hasn’t voted to repeal. House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) plans to unveil his 2016 blueprint today. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Government Publishing Office has established a presence on GitHub, the online software code-sharing service. It joins the National Archives, Smithsonian, Library of Congress and the White House. Some 10,000 individual government users have signed up to share and collaborate on code. GPO’s director, Davita Vance Cooks, said the agency will contribute the code for storing and sharing documents on its Federal Digital System. She said since FedSys was established in 2009, it has served up some one billion documents. The White House has been encouraging use of open source since 2012. (GPO)

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