Friday federal headlines – March 20, 2015

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.

• President Barack Obama picked two dozen federal employees to be a part of the Senior Executive Service advisory group. Obama joined yesterday’s meeting. The group is working on pilot projects at the Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Commerce and Energy departments. (Federal News Radio)
• Veterans have a new way to file compensation and disagreement claims. The Veterans Affairs Department implemented a new online filing process and standardized application tools. The VA said the new, streamlined benefits process will make it easier for veterans to file claims. (Veterans Affairs)
• President Barack Obama appointed David Recordon as the new director of White House Information Technology. He’ll be responsible for modernizing and securing IT throughout the Executive Office of the President. It’s unclear whether the new job will replace the chief information officer within EOP. Recordon was an engineering director at Facebook. He led software engineering teams responsible for internal productivity tools that enabled staff to create, share and find information efficiently. He spent the last year as a consultant in the U.S. Digital Services Office, part of the Office of Management and Budget.(Federal News Radio)
• The White House launched an awards program for federal employees who excel at customer service. The awards recognize employees in the 15 agencies that provide most of the services the government offers to the public. They include the departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services and Treasury, but not the departments of Defense or Justice. Individuals will be awarded as will teams who have improved operations to help customer service. Winners will receive a certificate or a trophy. Cash awards will be left to the discretion of individual agencies. (Federal News Radio)
• The White House has launched a dashboard to track user behavior on federal websites. The Digital Analytics Dashboard is available to the public at Analytics.USA.gov. It shows, in real time, how many people are on an agency site, which pages are most popular and what browsers or devices people are using. It also measures how much traffic is coming through desktop computers versus mobile phones and tablets. The White House noted the dashboard does all that while still protecting privacy — IP addresses are anonymous. The administration said it will use the data to analyze progress and understand what matters most to citizens. (White House)
• A new bill would let the Pentagon move $50 billion around within its accounts. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced the Military Sequester Flexibility Act. He said it would let the Defense secretary prioritize reductions and ensure military readiness. That could help lessen the impact of sequestration on DoD. Under the measure, Secretary Ash Carter has to prove to lawmakers that any movement in the account is “necessary in the national interest.” Congress also has to approve any transfer of funds. The bill would automatically expire in 2023. (Rand Paul)
• President Barack Obama ordered a new round of greenhouse gas emission cuts by federal agencies. Now, they must reduce emissions by 40 percent over the next 10 years. Agencies must also reduce building energy use by 2.5 percent per year through 2025. Water usage is supposed to drop 2 percent per year. Obama wants one-third of the government’s energy requirements to come from solar, wind or hydropower. (Associated Press)
• Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James expects the new refueling tanker to make its first flight this summer. That would be months later than the original target date of mid-April. Defense News reports the earlier date was not a contractual obligation, only a goal. But Air Force officials are concerned the program is losing any margin for error in its schedule. Boeing is under contract to have 18 ready-to-go KC-46A tankers delivered by the end of 2017. Eventually, it will deliver 179 of the planes, an adaption of the commercial 767. James said costs on the program are capped and Boeing is mainly doing what it has to under the program. (Defense News)
• Remember the reports of two Secret Service agents who were drunk and crashed a car into a White House barrier? Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy told lawmakers yesterday that it didn’t happen like that. He told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee the car was going at 1 to 2 miles-per-hour when it pushed aside a plastic barrel, doing no damage to the vehicle. However, some video recordings of the incident were erased. The Secret Service records over videos after 72 hours, unless it needs that footage for an investigation. The agency said it’s working now to recover those files. (Associated Press)
• Auditors said the Defense Department needs to use more data to address sexual assaults on male service members. An analysis from the RAND Corporation showed about 13 percent of males who have been sexually assaulted report the incident, compared to 40 percent of females. DoD has been reporting data on military sexual assaults since 2008, according to the Government Accountability Office. But the department isn’t using all of that data to make program decisions. GAO said DoD also doesn’t have a plan in place to use that data. The Health Affairs Office hasn’t determined gender-specific needs for male victims.(GAO)
• A bill to help recover American hostages is already getting support from Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) wants President Barack Obama to task one person with leading hostage recovery efforts. Each hostage would have a task force of representatives from appropriate agencies. But one person would manage the work of all of those agencies. Carter agreed with Hunter, saying a hostage rescue needs “a choreographer.” Hunter cited the case of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban. More than two dozen officials from the State Department, DoD, Central Command, CIA, FBI and more agencies were working on the case. Critics said the case was disorganized and agencies had poor communication. (Associated Press)

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