Friday federal headlines – November 7, 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.

  • A Justice Department student hiring program was marred by nepotism according to the inspector general. The IG found two immigration administrators and a judge made the hiring of relatives a routine practice. Over a six-year period, 16 percent of student hires at the Executive Office for Immigration Review were somebody’s relative. Named in the IG report were EOIR director Juan Osuna, appeals board chairman David Neal and chief immigration judge Brian O’Leary. The IG found 32 out of 200 student hires to paid positions were improper. (DoJ)
  • HealthCare.gov received security upgrades ahead of the second open enrollment season. The health website does security scans daily. It also simulates cyber attacks each week in what are called “white-hat” hacking attempts. When HealthCare.gov launched last year, it hadn’t had time to finish security testing. The site had numerous bugs and crashes, and users had problems enrolling. Lawmakers and others sharply criticized the Health and Human Services Department for the troubled site. Andy Slavitt, who oversees HealthCare.gov, said the site now meets government standards for cloud computing. Open enrollment begins Nov. 15. (Federal News Radio)
  • Verizon obtained authorization through FedRAMP to sell cloud services to agencies. The company can sell through the Health and Human Services Department. Verizon said the authorization means agencies can reduce the time, costs and resources needed to select a cloud provider. Verizon said it’s seen an increased demand from agencies for its cloud services. A recent report from Verizon found that 65 percent of enterprises are using the cloud. And 71 percent of Verizon cloud customers are using it mission-critical applications. (Verizon)
  • The Food and Drug Administration needs to be more thorough in how it samples imported food for pesticide testing, according to the Government Accountability Office. Auditors found the samples FDA inspectors take are too small to be statistically valid. They only checked 0.10 percent of shipments of 10 fruits and vegetables deemed to be at high risk of contamination. GAO also found inspectors weren’t checking at all for some pesticides considered dangerous by the Environmental Protection Agency. FDA said testing more samples would be costly. But officials agreed with GAO’s findings. (GAO)
  • Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald said wait times at VA hospitals are down 18 percent since May. The average wait time for new patients is 42 days. That’s still short of the agency’s goal of 30 days or fewer. But McDonald called the shorter wait times “significant progress.” The VA also started sending out choice cards this week. They’re going to 300,000 veterans who live at least 40 miles from a VA hospital. The cards let those veterans see a local doctor instead. The VA will issue another 370,000 cards on Nov. 17. Those cards will go to veterans who have waited 30 days or longer for appointments. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Northern Virginia Technology Council issued a long list of recommendations for how VA can fix its technology and personnel problems. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) requested the study. Council members reviewed best practices for patient scheduling systems. They made visits to see first hand scheduling operations at VA medical centers. Topping the list of 11 recommendations: Aggressively redesign the human resources and recruitment process. That’s followed with making efforts to recruit, retain and train clerical staff a top priority. And developing a comprehensive human capital strategy. The report arrived as VA Secretary Bob McDonald makes a series of public appearances to report on progress since Congress passed a major reform bill. (NVTC)
  • The Pentagon is setting up a hotline for veterans after hundreds of troops said they might have been exposed to chemical weapons in Iraq. More than 600 service members reported the possibility of exposure to military medical staff. The New York Times reports the Pentagon is expanding outreach to veterans who believe they may have been affected. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered a review of military records in October. When asked if they believe they were exposed to chemical weapons during deployment, 629 service members answered “yes.” (Federal News Radio)
  • They’re not exactly pen pals, but President Barack Obama secretly wrote a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Wall Street Journal reports, the letter tried to establish a common interest in taking on the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. But the President told the Ayatollah a nuclear deal would have to come before military cooperation. Sources said the letter tried to assure Khamenei the U.S. was not aiming its air strikes at the Syrian government, an Iran ally. The letter arrived before Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Oman. There, he will try to negotiate a nuclear limitation deal with his Iranian counterpart. (Wall Street Journal)
  • The Pentagon is looking at some not-so-usual suspects for new technology solutions. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to expand its pool of applicants for research funds. It announced a new application on FedBizOpps that targets companies who’ve never done business with the government before. DARPA said it’s looking for non-traditional organizations and start-ups. It asked for white papers that are no longer than two pages. The agency wants services that combine biology, engineering and computer science. DARPA can award up to $700,000 for unclassified research. (FBO)

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