Federal Drive

Thursday Morning Federal Newscast – May 5th

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

May 5, 2011 9:59 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.

The Office of Personnel Management has launched a new online tool to help federal hiring managers. It’s called USAJobsRecruit, and it contains a variety of content to help managers navigate the complicated hiring process. GovExec reports the site houses best practices and lets managers share their strategies for recruitment. It also contains the latest social media tools. OPM deputy associate director Angela Bailey tells GovExec the site was developed in a partnership with the Education Department.
The extent of the government’s excess property has become clear. The White House has released a map showing the locations of thousands of civilian agency properties it would like to get rid of. The Administration has also sent a proposed bill to Congress creating an independent commission to dispose of the properties. In all, the Office of Management and Budget has identified 14,000 properties it believes are excess. A third of them belong to the Agriculture Department. Locally, there are more than 500 excess properties among Maryland, Virginia and the District.
A low-profile agency seized its chance to shine by helping the CIA and Navy SEALS take down Osama Bin laden. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency created images of bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. Federal Times reports NGA’s images were used to create models of the compound, including a full scale reproduction of the structure that Navy SEALs used for training. NGA also tracked the use of electricity in the area. The operation was reportedly so secretive that NGA is now going back and trying to figure out exactly who did what.
Federal News Radio told you that as the Army moves its email to the cloud, getting other military branches on board should just be a matter of time. Now comes word that a House armed services subcommittee has chopped the projects budget by 98 percent. Next Gov reports that for the Army to get that part of its budget back, it will have to conduct a business case analysis of the program.
Just a week after reporting solid first-quarter profits, General Dynamics is letting 112 employees go. The layoff notices come after the cancellation of the Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle Program. The Washington Business Journal reports that the company distributed the notices to workers in its Woodbridge, Virginia office, eliminating a third of employees there. Those employees are expected to leave on July first.
The military’s use of the code name “Geronimo” in the assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound has generated a backlash among some Native Americans. “Geronimo” was the name of the operation, and “Jackpot” was the code word for bin Laden. Geronimo was an Apache leader who fought Mexican and U.S. armies until his surrender in 1886. USA Today reports that Fort Sill Apache Tribal Chairman Jeff Houser wants an apology for the “slur.” But, Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians, says the operation, not bin Laden, was code-named “Geronimo.” Loretta Tuell is chief counsel for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. She says the committee will discuss the Geronimo issue today during a hearing on Native American stereotypes.
There’s one for American Indians, one for victims of the Holocaust, even one for women in the Arts. Now, the nation’s Latinos could get a museum of their own. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is endorsing a federal commission’s call to build a national museum devoted to American Latino art, history and culture. It would be located next to the Capitol and be a member of the Smithsonian Institution. Salazar is making the rounds on Capitol Hill today to press his case. If built, the museum would be part of a general renovation of the area that includes the Capitol reflecting pool.