Thursday Morning Federal Newscast – March 10th

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Amy Morris discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air.

• The Senate failed to pass either of two budget plans for fiscal 2011. Two odd twists marked the votes. Three Republicans joined Democrats against the GOP bill because they didn’t think proposed cuts went deep enough. And 10 Democrats vote with Republicans against the Democratic bill, believing cuts were too deep. The current continuing resolution expires March 18. Congress goes a week-long recess March 19. Anticipating the lack of a deal, House Republicans are preparing another two-week continuing resolution with two billion dollars in cuts.
• A Senate movement to curb deficits gains steam. Sixteen Republicans and 15 Democrats now back efforts to cut future federal deficits by adopting recommendations of a White House commission. The Wall Street Journal reports, a bi-partisan deal is possible within weeks. Virginia Democrat Mark Warner and Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss are leading the effort. It would amend the tax code to boost revenue and trim the growth of Medicare. The commission’s co-chairs launched a non-profit group to educate the public about the deficit. Meanwhile, the Obama administration’s 2012 budget request anticipates a record deficit of $1.6 trillion dollars.
• The U.S. Postal Service is shrinking its workforce by up to 30,000 employees this year. The Postal Service confirms that 7,500 positions could be eliminated as part of a redesign that the post office has planned. Another 22,000 positions would be removed through attrition – that number is the average attrition rate for the last six years according to an agency spokesperson. The Postal Service will announce its redesign plans later this month.
• Some military spouses will have more time to land a federal job, thanks to expanded benefits planned by the Office of Personnel Management. The current benefit lasts for two years after the member is disabled or dies. It allows spouses to skip the regular competitive hiring process for federal jobs. A notice on the federal register says OPM plans to remove to time limit and give spouses as much time as they need to take advantage of the program.
• Former Special Counsel Scott Bloch finds out today not if he’s headed for jail: he’ll find out how long he’ll spend in the slammer. Bloch headed the Special Council office under the Bush administration. He plead guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from erasure of computer data and withholding information from Congress. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson ruled yesterday that Bloch cannot withdraw his guilty plea. Bloch had argued he only pleaded guilty thinking he would get probation, and not jail time. He faces a minimum sentence of one month behind bars.
• A defense technology contractor is facing federal charges, accused of exporting sensitive military data to China. Steven Liu is an engineer with a New Jersey based company. He was part of a research and development team working on navigation devices and other innovative components for the Defense Department. Justice Department says Liu took a laptop with highly sensitive data on an unauthorized trip to China, and shared the data at a conference there. If convicted Liu faces a up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
• Orbital Sciences is bouncing back. The Washington Business Journal reports Orbital is recovering from its second failed NASA satellite launch while landing a billion-dollar contract with the Defense Department. Orbital was awarded the contract for the Missile Defense Agency’s Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Target. It will be responsible for manufacturing target rockets, as well as logistics, maintenance and launch execution. The seven year deal could be worth up to $1.1 billion and the base value is $217 million.
• It has taken years, but the National Archives and Records Administration’s Electronic Records Archive is launching at three different agencies this month. This is a more stripped-down version of the original plan for the ERA system. Federal Times reports Health and Human Services, Justice and State Departments will be the first to fully access the system to transfer electronic documents to NARA for preservation. All agencies are expected to be using the system by October of next year. But so far, contractor Lockheed Martin has only met 60-to-70-percent of the requirements to develop the system.
• Washington D.C. is the nation’s number one Twitter Town. USA Today reports, Men’s Health Magazine’s ranks DC at number one on it’s list of the 100 best and worst Socially Networked Cities. Not surprising, considering how many government and news organizations tweet on a daily basis. But researchers didn’t just count tweets. They collected the number of Facebook and LinkedIn users per capita in each state’s most populated cities. They analyzed traffic generated by social networks, then they factored in the percentage of households that check out chat rooms and blogs.

More news links

GAO questions need for Ground Combat Vehicle (ArmyTimes.com)

Senate roll call: How they voted on GOP cuts

House panel votes to repeal new FCC Internet rules

China welcomes newly nominated US ambassador

Memorial services being held for slain airmen

Spring ahead without feeling miserable

THIS AFTERNOON ON FEDERAL NEWS RADIO

Coming up today on The DorobekInsider:

** When the budgets get tight, what’s the first thing to go? You got it — training. How can you ensure that you are getting return on your training investments? We’ll find out.

** And in cyber-security, there has been a lot of talk about partnerships. A group of industry groups has some ideas about how to make cyber-parterships work. We’ll talk to them…

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