Friday federal headlines – September 19, 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.

  • Steve VanRoekel is leaving his position as federal chief information officer and moving to the U.S. Agency for International Development to help with the agency’s response to the Ebola virus. He’ll be USAID’s new chief innovation officer. Office of E-Government and ITT Deputy Administrator Lisa Schlosser will be the acting federal CIO. (Federal News Radio)
  • Consolidating the Homeland Security Department headquarters saves government nearly $1 billion over 30 years. That’s according to a new report from Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. It wants Congress to put up $323 million for DDS and the General Services Administration to finish renovating the St. Elizabeths Center building. (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee)
  • The Senate easily passed a continuing resolution to keep the government operating until Dec. 11. The House passed the bill a day earlier, so now it awaits the President’s signature. The bill is silent on President Barack Obama’s promise to give federal employees a 1 percent pay raise. That means the raise can proceed on Jan. 1. Congress gave more staffing flexibility to Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But it failed to provide increase spending on immigration courts. Immigration advocates said that money was needed to speed up the cases of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border. (Federal News Radio)
  • The continuing resolution Congress approved gives President Barack Obama the backing he sought for the campaign against the Islamic State group. It gives Obama the authority to arm and train rebels in Syria. Training will take place at camps in Saudi Arabia. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said the training could take a year. The training authority extends to Dec. 11. The lame duck session of Congress will have to consider it all over again. Estimates on the size of the Islamic State army range from 20,000 to more than 30,000. (Associated Press)
  • How can you stop cyber attacks before they happen? Anticipate them as you’re building a system. That’s the advice to programmers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST is drafting a new publication with methods for incorporating cybersecurity concerns into engineering IT infrastructure. Ron Ross, a computer scientist at NIST, said programmers create vulnerabilities “faster than cybersecurity can keep up.” He wants programmers to think about cybersecurity from the start, not patch up issues as they go along. (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
  • It’s getting hard to tell just how many people have health care insurance from the federal exchange. Seven-hundred thousand people appear to have dropped coverage they obtained earlier, according to Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Minus the people who fell out, Tavenner said the total is now 7.3 million. It’s unclear why 10 percent dropped their coverage. She said they might not have paid their first invoice, or they may have obtained insurance elsewhere. Open enrollment starts again Nov. 15. (Associated Press)
  • The Health and Human Services Department released $71.5 million it had withheld to deal with the flow of migrants on the Mexican border. That funding was meant to go to groups providing refugee services across the United States. HHS told states the money would be released as border migration declined. All 50 states will receive funds. The bulk of it goes to Florida, California, Texas, New York, Michigan and Minnesota. This will support programs such as language classes, job counseling and tutoring for refugees. An HHS spokesperson said it does not anticipate withholding funds in 2015. (Associated Press)
  • Stung by charges of excessive force, Customs and Border Protection gained the authority to investigate itself. Commissioner Gil Kerlikowski said CBP’s internal affairs staff received the green light from Homeland Security headquarters. The Wall Street Journal reports, it’s part of a bigger effort to increase accountability at CBP. Earlier, CBP officials said they had reviewed 860 cases of force dating back to 2009. They concluded that 155 cases should get a closer look. At issue is whether border patrol agents used excessive force in stopping illegal aliens at the southern border. (Wall Street Journal)
  • Veterans’ Affairs is mismanaging another program — this time it’s one for family caregivers. That’s the finding of a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers is designed to compensate families who care for a loved one who served in the military. In theory, the program provides a monthly stipend, as well as facilitates home visits and medical care from VA staff. Yet, the VA vastly underestimated how many families would apply. High demand is creating months of delay and impeding veteran care. (Government Accountability Office)
  • The federal government turns a blind eye to human rights abuses along the procurement chain. That’s the accusation of a new report from the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable. It says low-bid competition, lack of transparency, the large scale of U.S. procurement and lack of capacity to manage supply chains contribute to problems. It says the U.S. needs to establish safeguards against rights abuses as it attempts to stretch the taxpayer dollar in a global economy. (International Corporate Accountability Roundtable)
  • The military’s special forces have been at work for 13 years. Leaders have concluded, the stress on warfighters and their families has caused special forces to fray. To help, Special Operations Command launches an initiative known as Preservation of the Force and Family. It’s designed to give the joint command staff member and families psychological tools they need to maintain resilience. Navy Capt. Thomas Chaby describes the initiative at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Resilience Summit in Falls Church. He says Special Operations Command leadership wants to get rid of the stigma many warfighters attach to seeking psychological help. (Defense Department)

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