Federal Drive

Monday Morning Federal Newscast – April 4th

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...

Federal News Network Staff

April 4, 2011 9:13 am

4 min read

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.

With two days until their self-imposed posting deadline, congressional negotiators still haven’t agreed to a 2011 budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. Both Republican and Democratic leadership say they are working on a plan to cut $33 billion in spending. But neither side has declared a formal deal. Over the weekend, President Obama joined the fray personally. He pressed the House and Senate leaders Saturday to agree to a budget in time to avert what he says would be an economically harmful government shutdown. For a vote to occur by Friday, a final bill must be published for members to read by Tuesday evening.
Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry says federal managers are too timid when it comes to poorly performing employees. He tells a House subcommittee that if someone isn’t doing the job, they ought to be fired. He says everyone needs a chance to improve and receive some training. But if they still don’t perform, Berry says get rid of them. He adds that the federal pay system isn’t fundamentally designed to reward top performance.
The Government Accountability Office is preparing a report that criticizes the Centers for Disease Control over a 2004 finding. That’s when the CDC said that elevated levels of lead in the District’s tap water didn’t pose a public health threat. The Washington Post reports that the GAO report, which will be released next week, calls on the CDC to publish what it knows about the dangers of lead in drinking water and explain the health risk to children. It also urges the CDC to come up with a way to review information that’s already been published, then determine whether that old information needs to be clarified or corrected.
SRA is being bought by private investors. The government contractor has agreed to be acquired by Providence Equity Partners for nearly $2 billion. Washington Business Journal reports that SRA has been considering a sale since October. It will continue to be run by its existing management team and remain headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. The acquisition still requires shareholder approval. SRA says it has more than 7,000 employees and holds more than 1,400 contracts.
Two companies will announce a plan to speed deployment of the FAA’s Next Generation air traffic control system. The Wall Street Journal reports, ITT Corporation, an aviation-equipment supplier, is teaming with Nexa Capital Partners, a private-equity firm. They will create a loan-guarantee fund of more than $1.5 billion. Airlines would use the fund to help finance upgrades needed for airplanes to use the NexGen system. NextGen replaces ground based radar with navigation based on the Geographic Positioning System. One cause of delays has been airlines’ reluctance to shell out billions for new equipment. The fund will be seeded by $150 million in federal loan guarantees.
A nearly three-year-old class-action lawsuit against Freddie Mac has been dismissed. The suit accuses Freddie Mac executives of misleading shareholders about its exposure to sub-prime mortgage risks. The Washington Business Journal reports that the federal judge says the plaintiffs failed to prove their case, and dismissed the suit. The judge also dismissed claims of misrepresentation about Freddie Mac’s capital, internal controls, and underwriting process. The plaintiffs have sixty days to file an amended case.
They’ll still be available for back-up but NATO says U.S. warplanes will leave the skies over Libya later today. Britain, France and other NATO allies will now provide the fighter and attack jets to conduct intercept and ground attack missions while the U.S. provides support like refueling and AWACS capability.