Friday federal headlines – December 5, 2014

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.

• An omnibus spending bill is moving forward in the House. The emerging bill would fund most agencies for one year. But the Homeland Security Department would receive funding for a few months. That gives Congress time to revisit the DDS budget once Republicans take over the Senate. About one-third of the budget goes to daily agency operations. (Federal News Radio)
• Jessica Wright, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, is retiring. She’s leaving after more than 40 years in government. Her last day is March 31, 2015, after about two years on the job. (Federal News Radio)
• It took two tries, but NASA launched its Orion spacecraft this morning. The launch was scheduled for yesterday, but gusty winds and valve problems delayed the flight. Orion launched this morning from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The unmanned rocket orbited the Earth twice and then splashed down in the Pacific. The entire mission took 4.5 hours. NASA’s goal was to test some of the riskier systems before putting astronauts on board. The space agency plans to someday use the unmanned rocket to carry astronauts to Mars. (Federal News Radio)
• Veterans Affairs has a new mess on its hands. The inspector general said many veterans calling the VA’s national homeless hotline were shunted to answering machines. Many were never called back because of garbled or missing information. The National Call Center for Homeless Veterans opened in 2012. According to the IG, last year it received 80,000 calls. Of the 21,000 that were answered by machine, more than half of those weren’t returned. Auditors found the VA had no quality control process to check on the 50,000 referrals the call center did make. VA officials said they’ll re-train counselors and get rid of the answering machines. (VA)
• Next year’s Defense Authorization Act passed the House on a vote of 300 to 119. The bill would give service members a 1 percent pay raise in 2015, but it would freeze pay for general and flag officers. It also lowered the housing allowance by 1 percent. The Senate is expected to vote on the defense bill next week. A number of senators aren’t happy about an unrelated provision included in the bill. It expands wilderness areas in the Western United States. But the bill is still expected to pass in the Senate. (Federal News Radio)
• The House passed a measure to retroactively raise mass transit benefits for 2014, on a vote of 378 to 46. The benefit dropped to $130 per month at the beginning of this year. If the Senate approves the bill, it would restore subsidies to $250 per month. That puts it on par with monthly parking benefits. The mass-transit benefit is part of a broad package of tax breaks. But the bill only extends the transit subsidy through the end of the year. Unless Congress passes another bill, the subsidy will fall back to $130 a month next January. ( Federal News Radio)
• The Navy is investigating the secret filming of female officers in the shower. Navy Times reports a November report tipped off senior Navy officers to the incident. The military branch said some of the first female sailors to serve on Navy submarines were secretly recorded while they undressed. Women in the Navy first began entering submarine training four years ago. The videos show at least three female officers showering or undressing aboard the submarine. They were recorded for more than a year. The Navy is looking at a 24-year-old male second class petty officer, who’s accused of making and distributing the videos. (Navy Times)
• Hundreds of contract workers are asking for a bigger pay raise. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama boosted minimum wage for contractors to $10.10 per hour. But 200 protestors said it’s not enough. GovExec reports they want a new executive order from the President that raises minimum wage to $15 an hour. The workers protested in front of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., yesterday morning. Many of the employees work in food service at federal buildings, including McDonald’s outlets at Smithsonian museums and the Pentagon. Advocacy group Good Jobs Nation organized the protest. (GovExec )
• After several protests against it were turned down, a new governmentwide acquisition vehicle for office supplies is now open for business. The General Services Administration said it’s lifted the stay of performance for its Office Supply Third Generation. Most OS3 awards went to small businesses. That includes 13 general office suppliers, two paper suppliers, and five companies selling toner and ink. Walk-in sales under the contract are available at Office Depot stores. GSA officials estimate the government can save $90 million a year using OS3. (GSA)
• The new U.S. ambassador to Iraq says a sticking point between the two countries is resolved. Stuart Jones said he has assurances from Iraq that U.S. troops newly deployed there will have immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. President Barack Obama last month authorized 1,500 troops to return to Iraq to help train that country’s army to take on the Islamic State group. Stuart said Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has given personal assurances of the immunity. He also said it’s written into the agreement between the two countries. Congress appears headed toward approving an administration request for $5 billion to help train Iraqi troops. That could result in 3,000 American soldiers deploying to Iraq. (Federal News Radio)
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is on something of a hiring and real estate blitz. That’s because it has to staff up to carry out President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration. According to an agency bulletin, USCIS is hiring 1,000 people to be housed in a new operations center in Arlington. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) posted the bulletin and his own commentary at his website. Sessions is a vocal critic of the administration’s immigration policy. He said the hiring spree demonstrates how costly the policy will be. He said the new employees will rubber-stamp applications from millions of illegal immigrants eligible for deferred deportation. (Sen. Jeff Sessions)

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