Wednesday federal headlines – April 1, 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 FBI has identified the man killed in a police firing at the NSA. Ricky Shawatza Hall, 27, has a long record of assault and robbery charges. He was charged with robbery last year, after stealing a vest and skirt from a clothing store in Baltimore. Hall and the other man in the vehicle, Kevin Fleming, were both dressed as women. They were driving a stolen SUV. The FBI said the incident was not an act of terrorism. (Federal News Radio)
  • The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed two Secret Service agents. They allegedly witnessed fellow officers drive a car into a White House barrier. The committee wants to know the cause and exact details of the incident, and whether the agents in the car were drinking. Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) had asked agents to testify at a hearing last week. But Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy declined and instead testified as the sole witness. ( Federal News Radio )
  • The IRS eliminated a 60,000 case processing backlog of groups seeking tax-exempt status. That’s according to Commissioner John Koskinen. Many of the applications were from conservative groups at the heart of a controversy that enveloped the agency in 2013. One conservative legal center challenged Koskinen’s claim, saying its client has been waiting five years. Koskinen said IRS employment is down by 30,000 since 1992, and that 25 percent of its employees are eligible to retire next year. He said half of his 87,000 employees are over age 50. Koskinen added that calls to abolish the IRS might really be calls to abolish the complicated tax code. (The Hill)
  • The Office of Personnel Management said opportunities are growing for women in government. OPM data shows women entering the federal workforce now are more likely to be on a management track than a decade ago. Women currently hold about a third of SES positions. OPM said women make up 43 percent of the federal workforce, and women veterans make up nearly 19 percent of all veterans in the federal civil service. OPM said the changes are due in part to better workplace flexibilities, including telework, child care and alternative work schedules. The new report is the third in a series of analyses from OPM. Earlier reports look at millennials in government and education trends in the federal workforce. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Veterans Affairs Department is adding some political savvy into its senior ranks. Rob Nabors, a former White House budget and policy chief, will become chief of staff for VA secretary Bob McDonald. He’ll replace Joe Riojas, who’s been chief of staff since July 2013. McDonald said Riojas and Nabors will work together for a month to ensure a smooth transition. In an email to VA employees, McDonald said Riojas would pursue other leadership opportunities, but didn’t say where. Nabors moved from the White House to VA last May, after the VA’s patient scheduling scandal became public. (Federal News Radio)
  • A federal judge rules out the Navy’s plans to conduct training in waters off Hawaii and Southern California. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Mollway said the National Marine Fisheries Service violated environmental laws when it approved the Navy plan. She ruled the agency couldn’t support its findings that the training would have negligible impact on marine life. The Navy estimated it would kill 155 whales and dolphins and cause 13,000 serious injuries. Several environmental groups brought lawsuits against the training plan. (Federal News Radio)
  • Members of the Senior Executive Service don’t like the idea of turning them into at-will employees. They say legislative proposals to do so would politicize the SES. Current and former senior executives responding to a survey say they’d avoid expressing disagreement with political appointees. GovExec reports the survey was conducted last summer and received nearly 500 responses. Results were released this week. Last August, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation making it easier to fire SES members at the Veterans Affairs Department. (Gov Exec)
  • Health and Human Services has awarded a $12 million contract for a new Ebola drug. The contract goes to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in Durham, North Carolina. The company will work on developing the drug over the next 18 months. BioCryst’s drug prevents the Ebola virus from reproducing in the body. Researchers have tested the drug in non-human primate studies and found it effective. On top of Ebola, the drug is also effective at stopping two other viruses. HHS can extend the contract through August 2017, up to a value of $35 million. (HHS)
  • It’s time to turn over one of the last silver cups representing Doolittle’s Raiders of World War II. One of the three remaining survivors of the original 80 has died. Robert Hite, who was co-pilot on a bomber called Bat out of Hell, was 95-years-old. After surviving the bombing raid over Tokyo, Hite spent 40 months as a Japanese prisoner of war. He is survived by two children, five grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. (New York Times)

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