Friday morning federal headlines - June 29, 2012
Friday - 6/29/2012, 9:11am EDT
The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal
Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp 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 long-serving chief information officer at the State Department is stepping
down. Susan Swart will become CIO of the
International Monetary Fund. She joined the State Department in 1989 and became
CIO in 2008. She oversaw an IT budget of close to $1 billion. Earlier in her
career, Swart held several overseas assignments as a member of the Senior Foreign
Service. More recently, she worked on State Department projects for
communications, mobile applications and data center consolidation. (Federal
News Radio)
- Federal employees' retirement benefits stay unchanged
in a tentative deal to fund federal highway projects. The compromise bill must
still be voted by the full House and Senate. Earlier versions would have increased
the contribution federal employees make to their pensions. The deal also allows
retirement-eligible feds to opt for partial retirement so they can work part time.
If the legislation passes, it would spare 3,500 Transportation employees from
being furloughed. (Federal News Radio)
- President Barack Obama will veto House appropriations
bills for the Defense Department and Financial Services and General Government if
they remain in their current form. The White House opposes them for several
reasons. They would continue the pay freeze for federal workers, and the White
House said proposed cuts to the Internal Revenue Service budget would hurt
programs, reduce revenue and make it harder for taxpayers to get help. It also
said the bill would make it harder for the General Services Administration to
repair and maintain federal buildings. Lawmakers said cuts to GSA's budget were
necessary to "starve out opulence and frivolity." (Federal News Radio)
- The federal contractor running several governmentwide websites is under investigation by the FBI. An informant
alleges Symplicity Corporation tried to obtain information from its competitors by
hacking their networks. The FBI received a tip from a former Symplicity employee
back in November. Documents obtained by Federal News Radio show the company wanted
information about the other companies' customers. Symplicity's CEO, Ariel
Friedler, denies the charges. So far this year Symplicity has won $30 million in
federal business. The investigation doesn't put those contracts in danger,
although the company could face suspension or debarment. (Federal News Radio)
- The General Services Administration is offering buyouts again to select
workers. The Federal Times reported it was the second of three planned
rounds targeted mostly towards staff in the D.C. headquarters. GSA offered the
first round in January. At that time, officials said they hoped to cut 600
positions or about 5 percent of GSA's workforce. They said this wasn't because of
financial pressures, rather the agency needs to align its skills with its
customers' needs. Employees who received an offer this week include IT and
financial staff, public-buildings managers and human resources staff. (Federal
Times)
- A Democratic congressman has introduced legislation that would grant benefits to
same-sex spouses of veterans and service members. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash) is the
ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. His bill would make the
Defense and Veterans Affairs departments recognize any marriage that is recognized
by a U.S. state, commonwealth, territory or the District of Columbia. The bill
would change the definition of spouse in the U.S. code. Same-sex marriage is now
legal in six states and the District of Columbia. (Federal News Radio)
- While most people were focused on the Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act
decision, justices slipped out another ruling. The court ruled the 2006
Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional. The law had made lying about receiving military
awards a crime. A California man who lied about being a decorated war hero brought
the suit. Xavier Alvarez successfully argued that the law violated his First
Amendment right to free speech. The government had tried to convince the Court
that the law protected the integrity of military medals. It is still illegal to
wear unearned medals, even if you can now lie about having them. (Supreme
Court)
- In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill that would expand a State Department rewards program, targeting human rights abusers. The bill would give the Secretary of State more authority in offering rewards that lead to the arrest of accused war criminals. Both Republicans and Democrats cited the hunt for central African warlord Joseph Kony as a motivating factor. Kony is accused of kidnapping thousands of children and turning them into soldiers. He's evaded capture for more than 26 years. Last year, President Barack Obama sent 100 special forces troops to central Africa to advise regional forces on their hunt for Kony. That move also received support from both sides of the political aisle. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Va.) said U.S. military advisers have requested the expansion of the rewards program. (Federal News Radio)
