Monday federal headlines – March 30, 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.

  • Bryan Sivak is leaving the Health and Human Services Department. He’s been the chief technology officer for HHS since 2012. Sivak developed the IDEA Lab and HHS Buyers Club during his time at the agency. No word yet on his interim or permanent replacement. His last day is at the end of April. (Federal News Radio)
  • Defense Secretary Ash Carter departs today on a two-day domestic trip to talk about the military force of the future. A spokesman said Carter wants to focus on how the department must adapt so it can maintain superiority well into the 21st century. Carter will speak at his high school alma mater, Abington Senior, in Philadelphia. He then will go to Fort Drum, New York, to hear from soldiers and their families. His final stop on the trip is Syracuse University. He’ll have a roundtable discussion with members of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families about service members’ transition to civilian life. (Defense.gov)
  • Defense Secretary Ash Carter wants to boost military retirement benefits to attract and retain troops. His proposal would forgive student loans for some recruits with cyber skills. It also would give troops accounts similar to 401-k’s. A military compensation commission recently recommended setting up those accounts. The proposal would allow service members to take a mid-career break, in which they could get a degree or take care of their family before returning to the military to resume where they left off. Carter wants the changes put into place by early 2017. (USA Today)
  • GitHub, a popular computer code-sharing website used by several federal agencies, has been hit by a denial-of-service attack. It was swamped with traffic intended for the Chinese search engine Baidu. The Chinese version of The New York Times and copies of some websites banned in China were unavailable as a result. Baidu said it was not behind the attack. China’s Cyberspace Administration wouldn’t respond to a request for comments by the Associated Press. GitHub said it partially mitigated the effects of the attack by Sunday night. Just last week, the Government Publishing Office joined GitHub by contributing code related to its Federal Digital System. (Wall Street Journal)
  • A House panel approved a bill to help temporary federal employees get permanent jobs. The Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), would extend internal merit promotions to seasonal employees such as Forest Service firefighters. That would put them on par with permanent employees when applying to vacant jobs. Seasonal employees are terminated each season then rehired the next season. The process limits opportunities for career advancement. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), a cosponsor, said the bill would reduce the high attrition rate of the seasonal workforce. (Rep. Gerry Connolly)
  • A confidential Transportation Security Administration document on passenger screening has been outed. It outlines the behaviors that could lead to extra questioning or searching under a program called Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT. It also lists the score each suspicious behavior is given. A 2013 inspector general report questioned the accuracy and value of SPOT. While the report is not classified, the TSA did not make it public. The Intercept saud it obtained the document from a TSA employee.(The Intercept)
  • A new directorate under the Defense Department will focus on supporting the country’s nuclear mission. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is creating the Nuclear Enterprise Support Directorate. It will put in place some of the recommendations from the DoD Nuclear Enterprise Review last November. Those focus on oversight, investment, personnel and training. The directorate is expected to be fully operational later this spring. (Defense.gov)
  • Three astronauts have arrived at the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korienko will spend a year living and working aboard the space station. They’ll study how the human body reacts and adapts to living in space. They’ll look at changes in sleep patterns and exercise routines. The astronauts also will study how changes in pressure inside the skull affect vision and the effects of space on the immune system. The third astronaut, Russian Gennady Padalka, will spend six months in space. (NASA)
  • Smartphone encryption is giving law enforcement a tough time. FBI Director James Comey said the encryption makes it difficult for agents to obtain evidence in cases involving drugs, domestic violence or car crashes. Devices such as the iPhone 6 and some Android phones have unbreakable end-to-end encryption. Comey said he wants to work with Congress to find a legal way to give investigators access to encrypted devices, when necessary. (Federal Computer Week)
  • Harry Reid’s departure from the Senate could revive plans for a nuclear waste storage facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Several experts told Bloomberg BNA that after Reid leaves at the end of 2016, more Democrats will join Republicans in thinking positively about the project. Reid announced last week he’d retire from the Senate at the end of his current term. The minority leader has spent his career fending off the Energy Department’s long-term plan. Christi Tezak, an analyst with ClearView Energy Partners, said Reid’s departure is constructive for Yucca over the long term. A spokesman for Reid said he would spend the rest of his term trying to kill the Yucca repository. (Bloomberg BNA)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.