Tuesday federal headlines – Sept. 30, 2014

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com reade...

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows each day. Our headlines are updated twice per day — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — with the latest news affecting federal employees and contractors.

  • Four new open government policy initiatives are out from the White House. It wants agencies to adopt an open source software policy by the end of 2015. Other initiatives focus on protecting big data and updating USASpending.gov. (Federal News Radio)
  • Agencies doubled the percentage of their IT budgets that go to cloud computing over the past two years. But it was only a jump from 1 percent of agencies’ IT budgets to 2 percent. The Government Accountability Office says it’s not enough. GAO says agencies didn’t consider cloud computing options for 67 percent of their investments. (GAO)
  • The Office of Special Counsel said it persuaded the Veterans Affairs Department to settle with three whistleblowers in the Phoenix medical center. The terms of the settlements are secret, but Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner said the employees were allowed to return to successful careers in VA. OSC named the three whistleblowers. Dr. Katherine Mitchell reported understaffing and poor training in the Phoenix emergency room. Paula Pedene was chief spokeswoman at the center. She reported financial mismanagement dating back to 2010. Damian Reese blew the whistle on excessively long wait times for veterans seeking care and the manipulation of records to cover it up. (U.S. Office of Special Counsel)
  • The caseload at the Securities and Exchange Commission has grown in the past year, the first year of growth since 2011. The final numbers aren’t in, but a flurry of new cases means the agency will exceed last year’s 686 enforcement actions. The Wall Street Journal reports that some experts say the numbers represent only a partial success because the SEC hasn’t launched many blockbuster investigations. One Wall Street lawyer said the caseload lacks the type of big cases that made the agency’s reputation. SEC chairwoman Mary Jo White will tell Congress the enforcement division has had a successful year. She said the cases span the spectrum of markets, and the agency demanded tough remedies. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • A secretive data mining firm won a big contract to redo the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s case filing system. Nextgov reports Palantir has been awarded $42 million to replace a 1987 watch-list system called Treasury Enforcement Communication System, or TECS. Currently, the system cannot share information among various key databases. Palantir is expected to make a quick turnaround. The company must power-on the system within one year, and the software must be ready for testing by Spring 2015. (Nextgov)
  • The military’s partnerships with nearby non-profit organizations bolsters its efforts in the African Ebola crisis, according to an assessment from Navy Adm. James Winnefeld Jr., the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He spoke to the Concordia Summit in New York. Winnefeld said the Defense Department has thousands of partnerships worldwide, bringing in everything from advanced technology to better care for wounded warriors. He said the partnerships span both the business and non-profit realms. In Africa, local aid organizations bring local knowledge, and Winnefeld said that helps make DoD’s response faster and more effective. (Defense Department)
  • Conflicting stories are emerging about how far Omar Gonzalez got inside the White House. In fact, he might have made it to the Obamas’ living quarters. The revelation was made by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chairs a House subcommittee on national security oversight. He said whistleblowers informed his panel that the information a Secret Service spokesman, Ed Donovan, told the media was not entirely true. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson is scheduled to testify before a House committee today. It will be her first testimony since the incident. (Associated Press)
  • The FAA administrator has called for a review of all air traffic control contingency plans and security policies. Michael Huerta said the agency won’t hesitate to make changes. Reuters reports Huerta made his first public statement since a contractor employee set fire Friday to an air traffic control center in Aurora, Illinois. It caused the delay or cancellation of more than 3,000 flights. Huerta said 20 of 29 pieces of equipment were damaged in the fire. Harris Corporation has been making repairs. Huerta estimated it will take until Oct. 13 to completely fix the facility. (Reuters)
  • The National Cancer Institute is embarking on a new study to examine cancer risks from the first atomic bomb. Researchers from the agency want to know how many past and present cancer cases in New Mexico may have been affected from the explosion that took place nearly 70 years ago. Researchers are visiting the state this week. They plan to conduct in-depth interviews with several residents to learn about the lifestyles and diets of people who were living there around the time of the atomic detonation at the Trinity Site. Lead investigator Steven Simon said the information will help his team more accurately project radiation doses from the fallout. (Associated Press)

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