Wednesday federal headlines – October 8, 2014

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 Veterans Affairs Department received its Whistleblower Protection Certification from the Office of Special Counsel. This is one step toward meeting OSC’s accountability recommendations. The VA also set up the Office of Accountability Review. It will work with VA leaders to make sure they’re following through on whistleblower complaints and other scheduling issues. (Veterans Affairs)
• Millennials who work for the federal government aren’t sticking around for too long. The findings come from the Office of Personnel Management’s Employee Viewpoint Survey. Feds born after 1980 spend a median of 3.8 years in government. Only 34 percent said they’re satisfied with opportunities for advancement. But not all the numbers are so bleak. At least 61 percent of millennials said they are satisfied with their jobs. And 86 percent said they think their work is important. OPM will release the full report on millennials later today. (Federal News Radio)
• We’re learning more about the executives the Veterans Affairs Department is firing. One of them is James Talton, the director of the Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. An investigation by the Office of Accountability Review confirmed allegations of neglect of duty. He’s been on administrative leave since August. Terry Gerigk Wolf, director of the Pittsburgh center, is being fired for unspecified conduct unbecoming of a senior executive. Among other allegations, on his watch thousands of X-rays went unread. He’s been on paid leave since June. Six patients in Pittsburgh died after a Legionnaire’s Disease outbreak. But Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, complained that John Goldman is being allowed to retire rather than face real punishment. He’s stepping down as director of the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, Georgia. (Federal News Radio)
• Twitter is suing the FBI and the Justice Department. The company wants to be able to release more information about government surveillance of its users. Twitter, based in San Francisco, filed the lawsuit in a California federal court. It contends it has the right to publish more detailed information about the scope and frequency of government information requests. In January, Justice negotiated a compromise with Google, Facebook, Yahoo and LinkedIn. That agreement lets the companies reveal how often the government requests information on users. ( Federal News Radio)
• More aid is coming to West Africa in response to the Ebola outbreak. Fort Belvoir’s Defense Logistics Agency is sending supplies to the Liberian capital of Monrovia. Supplies include more than 2,800 cots, tents, prepackaged meals, bottled water, mosquito netting and insect repellent. The Army general leading the effort said the shipments will cost $750 million over six months. (Federal News Radio)
• U.S. troops may come in contact with the Ebola virus in Liberia. Army Gen. David Rodriguez said service members won’t provide direct care to Ebola patients. But they will work with blood samples from infected patients. Rodriguez said the troops are highly-trained and will wear protective suits. He said contamination is very unlikely. The Pentagon will send as many as 4,000 troops to West Africa. To date, the Ebola virus has killed more than 3,400 people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it could infect up to 1.4 million people. (DoD)
• Did the Drug Enforcement Administration go too far by creating a fake Facebook account? A New York woman thinks so, and she’s suing the agency. Sondra Arquiett accused the DEA of using her photos and other personal information it took from her cellphone after a drug bust. DEA Agent Timothy Sinnigen created the account. Arquiett claimed the agency tried to use her information to trick her friends into revealing drug secrets. The Justice Department originally defended the agency’s actions but now is reviewing if the fake account went too far. The case highlights how legal standards of privacy are struggling to keep up with evolving technologies. (Federal News Radio )
• The Office of Personnel Management’s finally released its annual report on official time. OPM said feds spent 3.5 million hours on union work in 2012. Employees at the Veterans Department logged the most official time of any agency. They spent 1 million hours on union work. But the report came about six months late for two Republican congressmen. Reps. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) wanted the report out by April 18. They were concerned OPM wouldn’t release the report at all. (Federal News Radio)
• Minimum-wage contractors can expect a pay raise next year. Employees working on new contracts will earn at least $10.10 per hour. The Labor Department posted its final rule on the Federal Register. It follows an executive order from President Barack Obama in February. The rule is effective starting Jan. 1. After that, the Labor Secretary will determine the pay increase each year. Obama wants to raise minimum wage for all federal employees. Right now, it’s $7.25 per hour. (Federal Register)
• Federal health care insurance premiums will rise an average of 3.2 percent in 2015, according to the Office of Management and Budget. But because of the way the formula works out, the government pays 3 percent more, while employees pay closer to 4 percent more. This year’s hike in premiums follows a 3.7 percent rise last year, and a 3.4 percent rise the year before. The price changes go into effect Jan. 1. Open enrollment season for federal employees and retirees starts Nov. 10. (Federal News Radio)
• The Justice Department has extracted a $13.7 million settlement from an Army contractor. DRS Technical Services of Herndon, Virginia, agreed to the fine. DoJ says the company overbilled the Army by supplying employees on a contract below the qualification levels called out for in the requirements. At fault is an indirect subsidiary called DRS C3 and Aviation Company. It does aircraft maintenance, logistics and depot support, and engineering support. It worked on a contract for the Army Communications and Electronics Command at Aberdeen, Maryland. Justice says the overbilling occurred between 2003 and 2012. The parent DRS Technologies is headed by William Lynn, the former deputy Defense Secretary and Raytheon executive. (DoJ)
• Funds in the Thrift Savings Plan took a dip in September. The G-Fund is the only one to have returned in the black. The fund gained 0.18 percent in September. It’s known as the “safe” fund and is made up of government securities. The S- Fund, which is invested in small-cap stocks, dropped the most, at 5.10 percent. The I- fund also suffered, dropping 3.82 percent. The good news is year-to-date numbers for all funds are still positive. (Fedeal News Radio)
• The Defense Department is starting a long-range research and development initiative aimed at delivering a new generation of battlefield dominance technologies. Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisitions, technology and logistics, described the program to the International Test and Evaluation Symposium. It will be headed by three big brains in the Pentagon: Alan Shaffer, who heads up research and engineering, Arati Prabhaker, the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Katrina McFarland, the assistant secretary for acquisition. Kendall compared the new initiative to one done back in the 1970s. That led to technologies such as radar-evading stealth and precision guided munitions. (DoD)

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