Federal Drive

Friday Morning Federal Newscast – July 15th

GAO needs help finding workers compensation fraud, the White House needs help finding cost-cutting solutions and feds will need help to get a raise.

Federal News Network Staff

July 15, 2011 8:05 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.

A possible bargain to raise the national debt ceiling may be taking root. Lawmakers and the White House paused their daily negotiations so Congressman could go back to the Hill and gage the mood of their members. That as a fallback option begins to take shape in the Senate. A plan from Senator Mitch McConnell and Majority leader Harry Reid would give the President authority to raise the debt ceiling while setting procedures in motion to vote on federal spending cuts. The plan could also include immediate spending cuts already agreed upon by White House and congressional negotiators. They have until Aug. 2nd to reach and agreement and avoid a possible government default.
Think you’re indispensible? If you convince your boss, and your boss convinces OPM, you might get a raise in spite of the federal pay freeze. GovExec reports, the Office of Personnel Management is telling managers raises might go through in special circumstances. But OPM must be convinced that not giving a particular raise could cause severe recruitment or retention difficulties, or have an extremely negative impact on agency operations. Promotions, step increases and awards are already exempt from the pay freeze.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is moving. The Washington Business Journal reports that the General Services Administration has signed a lease for nearly 491,000 square feet in a so-called ‘build-to-suit’ deal on Fishers Lane in Rockville. NIAID is currently located in different offices in Bethesda. The move to Fishers Lane would relocate the institute to a campus-like facility within a half mile of the Metro. The space should be ready in 2014.
Time to sharpen your cost cutting pencil. The White House has launched the third annual awards program for federal employees who come up with money-saving ideas. Saving American Value and Efficiency, or SAVE, is accepting nominations until July 29. So far, the Office of Management and Budget has received 749 entries. Feds get to vote on the ideas to come up with finalists. Then the public votes to pick the winner. One idea received so far is to stop minting the penny. Another suggests combining the Transportation Security Administration with Customs and Border Protection.
DHS plans to spend more than $300 million on radiation detectors that might not work. The Washington Post reports the Government Accountability Office has reviewed the plan – and says the radiation-detection equipment hasn’t been fully tested. That supports the National Academy of Sciences findings earlier this year, which says there’s just no way to know if the machines will work. The Post reports that DHS officials agree with GAO’s findings, but that for now they are reviewing the program and no tests are scheduled.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association have reached an agreement on fatigue regulations. FAA and NATCA says the agreement reinforces existing policy against air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. But policies will be made to reduce the chance for fatigue in the workplace. Controllers now will be allowed to listen to the radio and read from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., as traffic permits. They will also be encouraged to seek help to treat sleep apnea. Currently, controllers can lose their medical qualification is they have sleep apnea.
The Government Accountability Office wants you to tell them about worker’s compensation fraud by federal employees. It’s part of an wider investigation. GAO is accepting anonymous reports. Cases of fraud could included a beneficiary working a second job, overstating their workers’ compensation claim, or collecting benefits for a deceased individual. Anyone with information is asked to email GAO at workerscompfraud@gao.gov.
You too can join the struggle. To balance the federal budget, that is. A new computer game called Budget Hero lets anyone make a stab at creating a federal fiscal plan. Version 2 of Budget Hero is just out. It updates the original, published in 2008. It works like a war game, showing the effects of cutting here, spending there, or raising and lowering taxes. Players pick from more than 100 policy cards, trying to earn badges that reflect their politics. The game was developed by the Woodrow Wilson Center, a think tank, and National Public Media.