Monday federal headlines – November 10, 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 is hiring a chief customer service officer to lead a new agencywide organization. It will reorganize all VA customer services, like health benefits and loans, under one central office. VA Secretary Robert McDonald said the reorganization will happen within a year. He’s also launching a new crowdsourcing site where VA employees can submit their ideas to improve agency services. (Federal News Radio)
• A cyber attack on some Postal Service information systems possibly compromises personally identifiable information for some USPS employees. The breach also hits the Postal Service Customer Care Center. USPS said the call center data for customers who contacted the center earlier this year is also compromised. The FBI is looking into the cyber attack. (Federal News Radio)
• The Veterans Affairs Department is considering disciplinary action against more than 1,000 employees, Secretary Bob McDonald. McDonald told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that the agency will take “aggressive and expeditious” action consistent with the law. Since June, the VA has proposed disciplinary action against 40 employees. McDonald said those cases are related to long wait times at VA facilities and falsified records to hide the delays. The VA has considered disciplinary action against 5,600 employees over the past year; most of those were unrelated to the health-care scandal. (Federal News Radio/60 Minutes)
• Employees and contractors are responsible for at least half of federal cyber attacks each year. An analysis by the Associated Press found that the government spends $10 billion a year to protect sensitive data, but it still struggles to keep pace with cyber attacks. Employees and contractors have clicked on links in phishing emails and opened websites with malware. Some have been tricked by scammers into sharing their personal information. Other cyber hacks are intentional, like with former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. (Federal News Radio)
• More turnover is taking place in the Homeland Security Department’s cybersecurity division. Brendan Goode, the director of the Network Security Deployment division, joins a growing list of executives leaving for the private sector; his last day will be Nov. 21. In an e-mail to staff, assistant secretary Andy Ozment praised Goode for getting the Einstein 3 network monitoring program up and running. Danny Toler will take over Goode’s job. Toler has managed the procurement and execution of the continuous diagnostics and mitigation program. He also managed reporting and oversight for the Federal Information Security Management Act. Goode is the latest in a series of senior leaders who have come and gone from the cybersecurity division in the last few years. ( Federal News Radio)
• The Office of Personnel Management will add cybersecurity codes to all federal job descriptions, Federal Times reports. Currently, 4 percent of the federal workforce — 1.6 million employees — work in cybersecurity. OPM will divide cyber functions into 31 areas under seven categories. It will also add codes for jobs where cybersecurity is not a significant part of daily duties. The agency only recently started adding standard job descriptions for cyber workers. Before that, hiring managers had no baseline for cyber skills and agencies lacked a clear cyber workflow. OPM plans to have the codes in place by the end of 2015. (Federal Times)
• With control of the House and Senate coming, Republicans are looking again at the Federal Employee Retirement System. Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) asked the Congressional Budget Office for analysis of various options for reforming FERS, including adjusting the employee contribution and altering the formula for calculating retirement annuities. They also asked for analysis of expanding the defined contribution component, while reducing the defined benefit component. In other words, employees could eventually pay more for a smaller pension. At least one union, the National Treasury Employees Union, has already weighed in against the Issa-Ryan letter. (Federal News Radio)
• Open Season begins today, allowing federal employees to change their health, dental or vision insurance. The Office of Personnel Management said most plans will see benefit and rate changes next year. Five plans are leaving FEHB program; employees enrolled in those plans will have to pick a new plan before Dec. 8 to have health insurance in 2015. Employees can also add money to their flexible spending accounts, allowing them to use pre-tax dollars for certain medical expenses. (OPM)
• The General Services Administration adds detail to its Network Services 2020 strategy. It asked industry for advice on how to operate, invoice and establish service level agreements for a variety of network services. In its request for information, GSA asked specifically about web interfaces and computer-to- computer data exchange. Responses are due Dec. 1. NS2020 will eventually replace the current Networx contracts for telecommunications. GSA described the follow-on as the federal government’s strategic sourcing center for network-based and network- enabled services. Eventually, the program will include contracts for IT infrastructure, satellite services, mobility and wireless services, and consulting. (Federal News Radio)
• The U.S. campaign against Islamic State militants widens a bit, and the stakes get a little higher. President Barack Obama told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to send another 1,500 troops to Iraq. The Pentagon said they’ll have non- combat roles advising and training Iraqi and Kurdish forces. A spokesman said the U.S. will establish two expeditionary advise-and-assist operations. They’ll work outside of Baghdad and Irbil. Troops will set up training facilities to handle 12 Iraqi brigades. The call-up comes as Central Command forces bomb what they believe to be Islamic State leadership. But a spokesman says Centcom can’t confirm whether Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is wounded. (DoD/Reuters )
• The military named five U.S. bases to be used for Ebola quarantine. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said those bases include Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The military will also use two bases in Italy and Germany. Troops returning from Ebola missions in West Africa must be isolated and monitored for 21 days. It’s a requirement for service members, but optional for Defense Department civilians. The U.S. Northern Command will train 30 medical support personnel to help with Ebola cases at hospitals across the U.S. The personnel will support another 30-member team that’s already trained and ready to respond. (Federal News Radio )

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