Thursday federal headlines – April 16, 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.

  • Federal employees have new guidelines for posting on social media. The Office of Government Ethics suggested employees do not post their agency title and positions on social media accounts and think through posts and tweets before publishing. (Office of Government Ethics)
  • The IRS had tough tax day on Capitol Hill. Commissioner John Koskinen defended the agency against Republicans who blamed it for problems implementing the tax- related requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The House passed several bills that would curb what many in the Republican majority see as the agency’s abuse of its power. But one bill would reinforce the taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. That policy has the support of National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olsen. She agreed with Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who said people feel they’re fighting a machine that doesn’t care. Olsen said IRS customer service is officially the worst since 2001. ( Federal News Radio )
  • The House approved a bill to prohibit government contracts for companies that don’t pay their taxes. The vote was 424 to 0. House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced the measure. He called the bill a “common sense” measure that holds contractors accountable for paying their federal taxes. The bill came after many watchdog reports showed contractors owed millions in taxes. Chaffetz also introduced a bill that would let agencies fire tax- delinquent employees, and it would require applicants to prove they have paid their taxes. The House did not pass that bill. (House Oversight Committee)
  • A majority of the House Oversight Committee said they’ve lost confidence in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s chief. Twenty-two of 43 members — both Republicans and Democrats — signed a statement expressing disapproval of Michele Leonhart. She’s a 35-year veteran of the agency and has been at the helm since 2007. The DEA faces allegations of lurid sexual behavior by agents working overseas. Leonhart argued she doesn’t have the authority to summarily dismiss employees. The lawmakers said she was woefully unable to change what they called a pervasive good-old-boy culture at DEA. Rep. Jason Chaffitz (R-Utah) called on Leonhart to resign or be fired by President Barack Obama. (Federal News Radio)
  • Homeland Security officials trudged to Capitol Hill to defend their request for big budget increases for cybersecurity. They wanted a total of $1.4 billion next year. That’s according to Andy Ozment, the assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications. He told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, DHS needed $480 million for monitors known as Einstein-3 and other network security measures and another $103 million for continuous monitoring and diagnostics. In all, DHS asked for an 11 percent increase in cybersecurity funding. NextGov reports lawmakers are skeptical of a request for a $400 million civilian cybersecurity campus DHS would like to build in the District. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Veterans Affairs watchdog found the agency let contractors use personal laptops while traveling in Asia. The contractors used their laptops to access VA’s network from China and India. But many of their computers don’t have VA security software or settings. The department’s inspector general finds VA didn’t quickly respond to stop the practice of using the personal laptops. The agency also didn’t investigate if the incidents posed a risk to VA data. In one case, a contract employee was working in China using an un-encrypted computer. He then left the laptop in China. (VA)
  • We’re learning more details about a gyrocopter that landed on the West Lawn of the Capitol yesterday. Capitol police and the Secret Service were already aware of the pilot’s plans before he landed. The Secret Service interviewed Douglas Mark Hughes in October 2013. The agency was tipped off that Hughes wanted to land an aircraft on the grounds of the Capitol or White House. Hughes is a Florida Postal Service worker. The gyrocopter he flew has the Postal Service logo on it. (Federal News Radio )
  • The F-35 program chief told senators the troubled aircraft was making steady progress. He said the contractor, Lockheed Martin, will meet its delivery schedules. Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said there was progress on development, flight training, production and maintenance and on setting up a program of worldwide sustainment. Setbacks in the past year included an engine failure and discovery of cracks in a bulkhead, also troublesome has been the airplane’s software. It encompasses millions of lines of code. Bogdan said the F-35 is nearing completion of its flight testing and will soon acquire limited warfighting capabilities. (DoD)
  • The Government Publishing Office is now on Instagram. It joinned other agencies already on the site, including the Defense Department, White House, Interior Department and Transportation Security Administration, among others. Joining Instagram was the latest move in GPO’s push to become more digital. It posted photos of GPO employees at work. Director Davita Vance-Cooks said social media is critical to promoting the agency’s mission. It’s also on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn. (GPO)

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