Thursday Morning Federal Newscast – July 7

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 White House and Congressional sources are signaling, there might be a budget deal between President Obama and Republicans on the Hill. The Washington Post reports, the president is willing to compromise on future Social Security and Medicare benefits. And Republicans, lead by House Speaker John Boehner, are willing to consider some tax increases. A budget deal is needed before Republicans are willing to raise the federal debt ceiling and prevent the government from defaulting on bond payments. The deadline is August 2.
  This story is part of Federal News Radio’s Congressional Spotlight sponsored by United Technologies Corporation. Click here for more stories on Congress.
• Retaliation was the most common discrimination charge against a federal employer last year. That’s according to a new report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Allegations of retaliation saw a 2.7 percent increase in 2010 over the previous fiscal year. After retaliation, age and race discrimination were the next most frequent allegations. The three large agencies with the highest complaint rates were Labor, the U.S. Postal Service and Social Security Administration. Overall, EEOC received more than 17,000 complaints against the federal government last year – up nearly 4 percent from 2009.
• The VA has picked five contractors to build an online veterans benefits portal. The project is known as the Veterans Relationship Management System. It includes updating the VA’s telephone system for vets who prefer to call in rather than use a computer. NextGov reports, the contracts have a total value of $480 million over five years. Winners are Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services, Insignia Technology Services, Systems Research and Applications Corporation, VetsAmerica Business Consulting, and Veterans Enterprise Technology Solutions.
• Federal officials have reached a settlement with a group of Homeowners who claim discrimination in the way federal grants were dispersed after Hurricane Katrina. At issue was the formula used in Louisiana’s Road Home grant program. Two fair-housing groups and five New Orleans homeowners filed the suit in 2008 on behalf of 20,000 black homeowners. They say the program paid people based on the pre-hurricane value of their home or the cost of rebuilding. Under that formula, they say, people in poorer neighborhoods received far less than someone with the same home in a wealthier neighborhood. The New York Times reports, the group agreed to drop the suit in exchange for the creation of a $62 million fund to help people who came up short on trying to rebuild their homes.
• A National Security Archive survey finds agencies are falling well short of the Obama administration’s order to improve response time to FOIA requests. 17 agencies are working on requests that are 120 days old. The required response time is 20 days. Some FOIA requests have been in limbo for more than a decade. The Archive’s 10 Oldest FOIA Requests belong to the the Army, Air Force, CIA, Energy and State departments. At least on dates back 50 years. But there was some good news. NSA found more than half of agencies took steps to improve FOIA response.
• The Defense Information Systems Agency is staying put. Plans to move it to the Defense Department’s Cyber Command won’t happen. But DISA will lose its Office of Networks Integration and Information. That’s the gist of a final memo from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who retired last week. Gates ordered Teri Takai, DoD’s CIO, to come up with a plan to disestablish the network office by Sept. 30. Its functions will be split between Takai’s office and the Under Secretary of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission has leased its last square foot of office space. In surrendering the agency’s leasing authority, Chairwoman Mary Schapiro says she recognizes the benefits of having the General Services Administration manage its future leasing. GovExec reports, Schapiro agreed to let go of the leasing authority during a House hearing. At issue was a plan to rent nearly a million square feet of Washington office space. It would have cost a half billion dollars over a decade. The SEC did manage to pull out of the deal.
• June was not a good month for TSP investors. Nine of the ten funds had negative returns last month. However, TSP returns from the start of the year are still positive. All ten funds also posted positive returns over the last 12 months. Find a full chart of June’s returns here.
• Lawmakers and the White House might be near a budget detail to trim future spending by trillions. But military bands will not be silenced. A voice vote in the House has restored $120 million to more than 100 military bands. Total band spending will now be around $300 million. The band budget had had been cut last month by the Appropriations Committee. Democrat Betty McCollum of Minnesota proposed the cuts. But Republican Representative John Carter of Texas said bands are all part of what makes our military the patriotic body that it is.

MORE NEWS LINKS:

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THIS AFTERNOON ON FEDERAL NEWS RADIO

Coming up today on In Depth with Francis Rose:
Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu steps into the anchor chair while Francis Rose enjoys vacation. On today’s show,agencies are supposed to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests within a few weeks. But some agencies have FOIA requests more than a decade old. Hear how some people are fighting the backlog. Plus, it’s scavenger hunt time — Navy Style. Meet the woman behind the Navy’s latest interactive tool. Join Jared from 3 to 7 p.m. on 1500AM or listen on your computer.

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