Thursday federal headlines – May 21, 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.

  • Construction on a Veterans Affairs hospital center in Denver could stop Sunday if Congress doesn’t take action before the holiday weekend. VA Secretary Bob McDonald acknowledged the delays and cost overruns, calling them “inexcusable.” But he said Congress hasn’t acted on reasonable offers from the department. VA suggested redirecting funds from health care services to the construction project. Lawmakers were quick to dismiss that idea. VA is supposed to use that money to hire more physicians and improve medical centers. The Denver construction project is nearly $1 billion over budget. (VA)
  • House Speaker John Boehner lashed out at Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald. In a floor speech, Boehner said VA is no better than it was when McDonald took over from Eric Shinseki a year ago. Boehner complained too many veterans still have long waits for appointments, too few VA employees have been fired and that the department is incompetent at building hospitals. VA spokesman Victoria Dillon said the VA’s improvement plan is on track and 97 percent of appointments take place within 30 days of calling. Members of the Veterans Affairs committee recently turned down a VA request to reprogram money for an unfinished hospital near Denver that’s $1 billion over budget. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Labor Department asked a House panel for help in overhauling the Federal Employees Compensation Act. The 99-year-old law has vexed Congress for years, but federal employee unions have managed to block any changes. Labor wants to reduce injury benefits for employees who reach retirement age and have them use retirement savings to supplement their income. And it wants to end the differential in compensation based on the number of dependents a recipient has. Leonard Howie, the program director, told a House panel the plan would improve the program and save $360 million over 10 years. Colleen Kelly, president of the National Treasury Employees union, told the panel the cut in benefits for retirees would be unfair. That’s because once injured, employees are unable to build the same sized nest egg as those who keep working. (Federal News Radio)
  • A spending bill approved by the House Appropriations committee shows how tough the going will be this fall. The panel sent to the full House a budget of $51 billion for the Commerce and Justice departments and NASA. It gives only partial funding to measures requested by President Obama, such as so-called community policing programs.The White House immediately sent a letter threatening veto. The bill also cuts back requests for weather satellites and the decennial Census count. But it increases funding for space exploration. The full House won’t vote on the measure until next month. (Federal News Radio)
  • Two companies won an agency challenge to track first responders. This is the first innovation prize competition of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate. The challenge was to create technology that tracks first responders when they’re inside buildings, tunnels or other structures. That way, commanders will have access to real-time location data and can make sure everyone in the building makes it out alive. The Vreeland Institute from New York won first prize — $20,000. The firm’s idea included making 3-D maps of the buildings. Certa Cito, also from New York, takes home $5,000 for second prize. (DHS)
  • The Justice Department says the National Security Agency needs to wind down its bulk data collection by the end of this week. That’s unless Congress reauthorizes the Patriot Act before then. The law is set to expire on June 1. The House passed the USA Freedom Act, which only lets NSA collect metadata from phone companies on a case-by-case basis. The White House said it supports USA Freedom. But some senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) prefer to renew the Patriot Act. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) protested for 11 hours yesterday against renewing the Patriot Act. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Navy wants to crowdsource ideas on how to improve the department. It launches a platform called “Hatch” to do so. Innovators can submit ideas through the online forum. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Hatch lets the Navy connect with local innovators and solve problems that people encounter every day. The Navy will develop an incentive and rewards program to recognize people who submit and collaborate on ideas. (Navy)
  • The Marine Corps plans to certify its version of the F-35 fighter jet as battle ready in July. But it’s likely to be a while before the plane is used in combat. That’s according to Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, the deputy commandant for aviation. Defense One reports that Davis said he wants more time to train pilots and instructors. He said it would be possible to use the F-35 against ISIS in Iraq, but that would disrupt the training pipeline. When it finally is certified, the F-35 will be limited in what it can do. The planes still have maintenance software problems. And they’re not yet capable of carrying a full complement of weapons. (GovExec)

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