Friday Morning Federal Newscast – April 22nd

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.

• May 23 is the tentative date for Transportation Security Administration screeners to choose a union in a runoff vote. Balloting would end June 21st. The Federal Labor Relations Authority cautions, the two unions still must sign off on that timetable. An earlier election failed to produce a winner because of the large number of officers voting for no union. In the runoff, the no-union option will be left off the ballot. The National Treasury Employees Union and the American Federation of Government Employees are vying to represent TSA workers.
• Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the worst thing they can do is just make cuts across the board. He says that would lead to a “hollow” military. So, Defense.gov reports, Gates is holding a comprehensive review to ensure any cuts are based on analysis of the consequences. Gates said he’s had only one meeting, so far, to find ways to conduct the review, and hasn’t decided on an approach yet. He says one possible approach would begin with the Quadrennial Defense Review, and to consider the implications of scaling back or eliminating specific missions.
• Only one federal web site appears to have been affected by a major disruption in Amazon’s cloud computers. NextGov reports the outage downed an Energy Department site for sharing clean technology practices with the private sector. Amazon’s EC2 cloud in Northern Virginia also hosts a number of other federal websites, including recovery.gov. Washington Technology reports those sites continued to run. The disruption crashed several commercial social networking sites. Amazon’s troubles occur as the government implements a cloud-first policy for new computer applications.
• Cell phone location-tracking, attracts scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Representative Ed Markey and Senator Al Franken write to Apple. They want to know more about why the company collects a database full of information on the movements of iPhone users. Apple isn’t alone. Phones using Google’s Android operating system also transmit their locations back to the company. Both efforts appear aimed at helping the companies gain a foothold in the market for location-based services. That market is worth nearly $3 billion a year now, and it’s growing.
• ARPA-E has survived the budget battle. The high-tech federal research agency will get $130 million for five new program areas. The programs focus on rare-earth alternatives, biofuels, thermal storage, grid controls and solar power electronics. The funding comes from this month’s federal budget deal, just two months after ARPA-E said six of its projects secured more than $100 million in outside private capital investment. That’s a sign that the business community wants to invest in solutions to the country’s energy challenges.
• Newer and better fitting uniforms for female military members, are in development. 700 female Army troops are now testing new combat uniforms in the field. They have shorter sleeves and higher knee pads to fit their generally smaller bodies. New flight-suits make it easier for aviators to go to the bathroom mid-flight, and better fitting body armor promises to make it easier for women to position and shoot their weapons. About 14 percent of all service members are women, and about 220,000 women have servd the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• The US Postal Service is doing it’s part to Go Green on Earth Day, releasing its newest eco-friendly mailing materials and stamps. The 16 ‘Go Green’ stamps feature 16 designs of images showing what people can do to promote a healthy environment. Tips on the stamps include planting trees, turning off lights and using public transportation. The stamps were designed by Eli Noyes, a 68-year old San Francisco artist.
• And don’t forget to take advantage of National Park Week, running from April 16th – April 24th. There is free admission to national parks all across America. This year’s theme, Healthy Parks, Healthy People, highlights the connection between humans and environmental health.

More news links

Obama OKs use of armed drone aircraft in Libya

NTSB releases reports stemming from Stevens’ crash

‘Decapitate’ Email Prompted Complaint Against Outgoing Homeland Security Official (FoxNews)

Prison sentence pared in Air Force harassment case

CDC predicts smoking bans in every state by 2020

PlayStation network down after ‘Free Realms’ online game launch (CSMonitor)

THIS AFTERNOON ON FEDERAL NEWS RADIO

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–The Three most important Federal News stories of the week on this week’s Federal News Countdown with special guests Jonathan Breul of the IBM Center for the Business of Government and Bill Bransford of Shaw Bransford and Roth

–Some vendors winning protests are finding it’s not worth it to win! Contracting law expert William Welch will tell you why.

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