Friday Morning Federal Newscast – March 25th

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. T...

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.

  • At least 800 members of the government’s Senior Executive Service will be told they must give up performance-based pay raises awarded them late last year. The pay hikes are worth several thousand dollars a year in some cases. Federal News Radio’s Senior Correspondent Mike Causey has learned SES personnel at the Department of Energy were told the pay increase granted to them in December 2010 will be cancelled this coming Sunday. Energy’s SESers were told that the pay take-back was directed by the Office of Personnel Management as part of the 2-year federal pay freeze ordered by the White House and Congress. There are 7,000 career SES members across government. Causey reports chances are that the number added to the give-back ranks will grow. The good news: SES members won’t have to pay back the raises they have been getting for the past few months.
  • The U.S. Postal Service is offering $20,000 buyouts to some of its workers. The agency has said it will eliminate 7,500 positions by the end of the fiscal. Administrator Patrick Donahoe says the move will save the organization $750 million. The buyouts are for some non-union, administrative staffers. Some workers can also choose to take lower grade positions in exchange for salary and job protections. Among the staff reductions are 2,500 supervisors, 2,000 postmasters and 3,000 administrative employees.
  • Big changes for American troops serving in Europe. New rules forbid all military members from wearing their uniforms off base, even just to drive to work. U.S. European Command says they made the decision after the fatal shooting of two Airmen outside of Frankfurt Airport in Germany. The command says wearing the uniforms off base can make troops stand out and impact their safety. Military.com reports the directive forbids wearing uniforms for travel to and from home, short convenience stops, exercising, installations, and off post eating.
  • Hawaii is asking for help from the Small Business Administration after the March 11th earthquake off Japan’s coast. The resulting tsunami did nearly $31 million in damage throughout the state. The Pacific News Business Journal reports that Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie is asking the SBA to provide low-interest disaster loans to businesses, individuals and nonprofits to repair and replace damages on The Big Island. The other islands did not qualify for aid per the SBA’s requirements.
  • GSA has a way to help with the disaster in Japan, and they need your agency’s help. They’ve designed a widget that links to the latest information and resources on the federal response. And they want agencies to put the widget on their Web sites. The tool includes the latest on air quality and food safety in the U.S., and updates from the American embassy in Japan.

More news links

Man accused of trying to damage federal building

Ex-Army analyst pleads guilty to theft count

AF Worried GPS Signals May Be Drowned Out (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Sales of luxe doomsday bunkers up 1,000% (CNNMoney)

THIS AFTERNOON ON FEDERAL NEWS RADIO

Coming up today on The DorobekInsider:

** Your networks are under attack — more and more all the time. What can be done? We’ll talk to GAO.

** Those organization-wide meetings — most people hate them – both managers AND employees. But there are ways you can make them useful — and we’ll talk to two experts.

** And what was big for feds at the South-by-Southwest tech fest? We’ll find out

Join Chris from 3 to 7 pm on 1500 AM or on your computer.

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