Friday federal headlines – May 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  • The White House released draft guidance for how agencies should respond to the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act. The draft will stay open for comments until May 30. The much-anticipated guidance calls on agencies to develop 25-page plans delineating the scope of the chief information officer job and how it should relate to chief financial and acquisition officers. These so-called baselines are due Dec. 31. Agencies have until Aug. 15 to submit a self-assessment of the gaps between FITARA and their current IT governance. Federal CIO Tony Scott says the Office of Management and Budget wants to avoid the vague policies that accompanied a 1996 law with many of the same goals as FITARA. (Federal News Radio)
  • A House panel moved forward a bill to change surveillance from the National Security Agency. The House Judiciary Committee passes the USA Freedom Act on a vote of 25 to 2. Under the bill, the NSA would only be able to collect phone metadata after it gets approval from the court. That’s everything from phone numbers, time stamps and duration of a call but not the actual content. Lawmakers are scrambling to pass the act because Section 215 of the Patriot Act expires in a month. It’s uncertain if the Senate would pass the bill. (Federal News Radio)
  • A watchdog said the IRS has taken significant steps to stop agents from targeting political groups. According to the inspector general, the agency improved training for agents and eliminated what the IG called “intrusive” questions on applications. The IRS has also cleared a long backlog of applications. A 2013 audit from the IG alleged some agents singled out tea party and conservative groups that were applying for tax-exempt status. Lois Lerner is one of the officials at the center of that controversy. The IG recently gave Congress thousands more emails that were sent to and from Lerner. (Federal News Radio)
  • The House has approved a 10-year spending plan that leaders said would balance the budget within nine years. It envisions spending cuts of $5 trillion in that period. In the short term, the plan calls for increasing the Defense budget but holding the line on civilian agency spending. It also called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the tax hikes that accompany it. The measure leaves out earlier plans to increase employees’ contributions to the Federal Employee Retirement System. (Federal News Radio)
  • Cyber attacks on Veterans Affairs Department systems are rising at a rate that has officials alarmed. Chief Information Officer Stephan Warren said his staff fended off $1.2 billion intrusion attempts in March. That figure translates to 45 per second. It’s nearly a four-fold increase since November. Federal Times reports Warren outlined his concerns in a monthly call with reporters. Warren said that if the trend continues, VA will face 5 million cyber attacks in May. He said he’s unsure whether the protections in place would be adequate. He said $5 million might be overwhelming and allow some malware to infect VA computers. (Federal Times)
  • Veterans still won’t be able to get information on medical marijuana from their doctors. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced a bill that would let VA doctors talk with patients about the pros and cons of medical marijuana. The bill wouldn’t let them prescribe it — just talk. But the House rejected Blumenauer’s bill, on a vote of 213 to 210. Advocates say medical marijuana can help with chronic pain and anxiety and it’s less addicting and dangerous that drugs like opiates. (Federal News Radio)
  • Two senators want to create smoother transitions between White House administrations. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Ron Johnson (D-Wis.) introduced the Presidential Transitions Improvements Act. The bill would put in place a White House-led council at least six months before Election Day. The group would develop a strategy for the transition. This bill would also designate a General Services Administration employee as a Federal Transition Coordinator. The Partnership for Public Service said it supports the bill. President and CEO Max Steier said it would improve information sharing between outgoing and incoming administrations. And it would ensure agencies were prepared for leadership vacancies. (Partnership for Public Service)
  • Mike Vickers, the undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, has retired from government. The Pentagon reports his last day was yesterday. Vickers, a political appointee, served under both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Bush named him assistant secretary for special operations, to work under then-Secretary Robert Gates. When Gates was retained by Obama, he asked Vickers to stay, too. Vickers spent 13 years as an officer in Army special forces. Later, he was a CIA operations officer. He said a highlight of his career in the Pentagon was helping plan the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. (DoD)
  • Henry Chao, the technology lead of the initial HealthCare.gov rollout, has retired from government. He leaves as deputy director in the Office of Information Services at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He worked at CMS for 21 years, and his last day was yesterday. Chao, along with several other agency officials, caught heat from Congress in 2013 when the federal heath insurance exchange web site launched but barely functioned. But Chao alone pushed back against lawmakers’ assertions that the cybersecurity testing of the site was flawed. He told members their opinion of the website was highly subjective. A CMS spokesman wouldn’t say who would replace Chao. ( Federal News Radio )

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.