Tuesday federal headlines – December 9, 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 three-part plan to reform the Senior Executive Service is out from President Barack Obama. He spoke to a group of nearly 2,900 people. The Leadership Development Program is for future SESers. Obama says the goal is to give future executives many government experiences. An advisory group will work on new suggestions for the SES. Obama is also creating a new award to recognize outstanding service. (Federal News Radio)
  • Fast passage of the 2015 spending bill has hit a snag. With the current continuing resolution expiring Friday, at 12:01 a.m., Congress may have to pass another short term CR. Democrats and Republicans are disagreeing over extension of federally backed terrorism insurance. Republicans want cutbacks in regulations under Dodd-Frank included in the legislation, something Democrats oppose. Lawmakers are also debating a plan to reduce benefits for 1 million retirees whose pension plans might end up being carried by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The Senate will also have to work through a House plan to fund all agencies for the rest of the fiscal year, except the Homeland Security Department. (Federal News Radio )
  • American embassies, military units and other U.S. interests are stiffening their security postures around the world. They’re preparing for backlash from today’s release of a Senate Intelligence Committee report. The report details harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11. The 480-page report will be just the executive summary of a 6,000-page report compiled by Democrats on the panel. The controversial report is said to describe sleep deprivation, confinement in small spaces and waterboarding. It says the CIA lied about what it was doing and failed to obtain useful information from the tough techniques. The CIA, including its current director, dispute both claims. (Federal News Radio )
  • Slipshod administration led the Patent and Trademark Office to spend at least $24 million it can’t account for, according to the Commerce Department inspector general. The IG looked at a sample of 28 time-and-materials contracts PTO awarded in 2012. Auditors found that contracting officers couldn’t explain why they chose the time-and-materials route. They failed to establish ceiling prices and couldn’t account for some of the spending. The IG made eight recommendations to fix the problem. Deputy PTO director Michelle Lee said the agency agrees with all of them. (Federal News Radio)
  • Allied nations are doubling down on the United States’ commitment to supply 1,500 troops to train the Iraqi Army. The Wall Street Journal reports other countries have pledged to send another 1,500 troops. Army Lt. Gen. James Terry told reporters in Kuwait that the first group of non-U.S. troops is likely to come from European nations. He wouldn’t name the specific countries. Terry said that with 3,000 total troops helping train Iraq, the United States is doing pretty well in terms of boots on the ground. (Wall Street Journal)
  • Law enforcement agencies will have to change their racial profiling procedures under new guidelines from the Obama administration. The policy restricts officers from profiling based on religion, national origin, gender and more. It also requires agencies to provide training and collect data on complaints. The rule covers agencies within the Justice Department. Attorney General Eric Holder called it an important step forward in effective policing. But some advocacy groups said the policy doesn’t go far enough. The American Civil Liberities Union said the guidelines are too loosely drafted. They don’t apply to officers at airport security screenings or border checkpoints. And they’re not binding for state and local officers. (Federal News Radio)
  • Federal employees’ job satisfaction dropped to its lowest point in 11 years, according to this year’s Best Places to Work analysis. The Partnership for Public Service said one factor is declining faith in senior leaders. It scored overall satisfaction at 56.9 out of 100. That’s 15 points lower than job satisfaction in the private sector. (Federal News Radio)
  • The number of federal employees filing for retirement dipped in November. The Office of Personnel Management said it received about 5,700 claims last month. That’s 2,000 fewer than it projected for the month. OPM also processed 2,000 fewer claims than it had planned. The November numbers are a sharp contrast to October’s. More than 10,000 feds filed for retirement in October, surpassing OPM’s projection of 7,800. The agency expects to receive about 5,600 retirement claims in December. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Obama family’s personal chef will leave his job at the end of the month. Sam Kass has been at the White House for six years. He’s also the first-ever White House Senior Policy Advisor on Nutrition and executive director of the first lady’s Let’s Move Initiative. The White House said Kass will still be engaged in Let’s Move and he’ll keep working on school nutrition programs. His successor will be named next year. (White House)

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