Thursday federal headlines – March 19, 2015

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.

  • The Senate Budget Committee is proposing to shrink the federal workforce through attrition. Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) said agencies would only fill a portion of vacancies created when current feds leave or retire. His plan would cut $5.1 trillion over 10 years. That’s less than the House budget plan released Tuesday, which claims to save $5.5 trillion. The Senate budget plan requires feds to contribute more money to their pensions — this is also a provision in the House plan. Enzi’s proposal would cut discretionary spending at civilian agencies to $236 billion below sequestration caps. Defense spending would stay in line with sequestration caps, but the Senate plan would create a Defense reserve fund. ( GovExec)
  • Federal employees who break the law won’t be eligible for bonuses under a new bill. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced the Stop Wasteful Federal Bonuses Act. The bill prohibits bonuses for employees who violate agency policy or do something illegal that could lead to more than a year of jail time. That bonus ban would last five years. On top of that, the bill requires an employee to repay the bonus in such a situation. Ayotte and McCaskill have introduced similar bills before. The House passed a measure earlier this month that orders delinquent employees at the Veterans Affairs Department to repay their bonuses. (GovExec)
  • A Veterans Affairs medical center in Aurora, Colorado is expected to cost more than five times the original estimate. VA first projected the construction would cost $328 million. The new number is now $1.73 billion. That makes it the most expensive medical center project in VA’s history. The contractor, Kiewit- Turner, walked off the job last year because of cost overruns. Federal judges ruled in favor of the contractor and found VA had breached it contract. Some lawmakers want the Army Corps of Engineers to step in and finish the project. (Washington Post)
  • IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told Congress the agency would be able to avoid employee furloughs this fiscal year. But it’s frozen hiring and overtime. IRS is dealing with a budget that’s $346 million less than last year. Employment has dropped by 13,000 since 2010. Koskinen told the House Appropriations Committee, the tax filing season has nevertheless gone smoothly. Koskinen is asking for an 18 percent budget hike for 2016, or a total of nearly $13 billion. Republicans on the committee called that request massive and astronomical. (Federal News Radio)
  • Tunisia, racked by terrorist violence this week, is getting a military equipment boost. The Army has awarded Sikorsky Aircraft a $93 million contract to begin work on eight UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters. They’re headed for the Tunisian government under the foreign military sales program. Deliveries will take place by the end of 2016. Sikorsky will build the helos in Stratford, Connecticut. Tunisian officials requested a dozen Blackhawks last August amid a growing threat from Islamic militants. (DoD)
  • A State Department reward program aimed at catching smugglers and illegal wildlife traffickers now applies to international cyber criminals. The FBI is offering a $3 million reward for help in catching Evgeniy Bogachev, a prolific Russian cyber criminal under indictment for 10 months. He’s one of many overseas cyber criminals beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. Executive Assistant Director Robert Anderson said the bounty strategy is a first for the FBI in cyber. Officials said they don’t expect to nab Russian or Chinese hackers in their home nations. But they hoped they might get careless and travel to a country more cooperative with the United States. (Federal News Radio)
  • Steve VanRoekel is leaving the U.S. Agency for International Development. VanRoekel was the Obama administration’s second chief information officer. He left the White House in September to help USAID in its efforts against Ebola in West Africa. (Federal News Radio)

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