Wednesday federal headlines – September 17, 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.

  • Agencies can fire federal employees found guilty of destroying or manipulating official documents. The House passed the Federal Records Accountability Act. Guilty employees would get a suspension and a written statement of their charges within 15 days. It also means federal employees can’t use personal devices for official business unless they create an electronic record of it. (GovExec)
  • The House Veterans Affairs Committee wants more answers after a VA Inspector General report said scheduling problems didn’t play a role in the recent deaths at the Phoenix VA hospital. Acting VA IG Richard Griffin testified before the committee. (House Veterans Affairs Committee)
  • The House debated a continuing resolution to keep the government running through Dec. 11. It includes $88 million requested by President Barack Obama to deal with the ebola outbreak in Africa. It extends the Export-Import Bank authorization through June 2015. And it gives Custom and Border Protection more flexibility to add staff at the southern border if necessary. The GOP-controlled House also passed a couple of measures unlikely to find favor in the Democratic Senate. One would let agencies suspend senior executives “for cause” for up to two weeks without pay. It would put new SESers under probation for two years instead of one. Still another measure reiterates the ban on IRS employees using personal email for official business. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Veterans Affairs Department took up a good part of Congress’ day. The House approved a Senate bill to continue cost-of-living increases for vets and their families on disability. The boost tracks Social Security increases, but must be re-authorized yearly. The bill is now awaiting the President’s signature. The House passed a bill to give the Army Corps of Engineers oversight authority for VA construction projects worth $60 million or more. Another House-approved measure extends a law requiring the VA to make annual reports to Congress on traumatic brain injury. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services received praise from government auditors for fixing many of the security holes in the federal health-care exchange. But the Government Accountability Office found CMS has plenty of holes to plug. Auditors said they still found weaknesses in the technical controls protecting confidentiality, integrity and availability of the online market. CMS still doesn’t have strong-enough password controls, and it’s inconsistent in applying software patches. GAO said it all adds up to a risk- riddled system prone to experience disruptions in service. (Government Accountability Office)
  • We’re watching you. That’s the message the Defense Department has for government contractors handling classified information. Updates to the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual will be released before the end of this year, according to a Politico report. Contractors will need to sign a form accepting that their Internet browsing will be monitored. Classified networks will display banners reminding users their activity is being tracked. The DoD will be on the lookout for employees accessing documents at odd hours or reading up on issues outside their own assignments. (Politico)
  • Military investigations into cases of sexual assault don’t always follow standards set by civilian agencies. That’s the bottom line of a new Defense Department inspector general’s report. It includes many recommendations. It encourages the Navy to clarify protocols for cases involving drugs or drinking. The Air Force should advise investigators to get the victim’s account of the assault. It recommends the Army proceed with investigations regardless of whether they obtain lab results to back up the victim’s story. (Defense Department IG)
  • The Iraqi Army will be an uncertain partner in the coalition to take on the terror group ISIS. Army Gem. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said the U.S. can rely on only half of Iraq’s 50 brigades. The rest are under-equipped or are too heavily weighted with Shiites. He said the U.S. Army will need to train the Iraqis in the basics of intelligence, surveillance and air power. Dempsey said a challenge will be getting approval from the Iraqi government to have U.S. troops in the country, training its own soldiers. Plus, Dempsey said he needed assurances that U.S. troops would not be subject to prosecution under Iraqi law. Dempsey is heading to Paris for talks with his French counterpart. (Associated Press)
  • NASA chose two of three bidders to build a vehicle to take astronauts to the International Space Station. Boeing received the larger deal at $4.2 billion. SpaceX won a $2.6 billion contract. Administrator Charles Bolden announced the winners at the Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida. Losing out was Sierra Nevada Corporation. NASA wants the vehicles to launch by 2017 from Cape Canaveral. It’s been relying on Russian Soyuz transports since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011. (Associated Press)
  • Attorney General Eric Holder asked for another delay on documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. He wants roughly 64,000 pages of documents to be withheld from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, at least until the Justice Department can take the case to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. An appeal on top of President Obama’s executive privilege claim on many of the documents means the issue may not be resolved until the end of the Obama administration. (House)

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