Tuesday federal headlines – December 30, 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.

  • The IRS says it will launch the 2015 tax filing season on time. That’s in spite of the fact that final tax legislation wasn’t signed into law until last week. Last year’s season was delayed because of the 16-day government shutdown. The agency will start accepting both paper and electronic tax returns on Jan. 20. The legislation contained 50 temporary tax breaks IRS programmers were able to incorporate into agency systems. Commissioner John Koskinen says system testing is ongoing. (IRS)
  • After Indonesia asked for U.S. help in finding a downed airliner, the Navy’s 7th fleet responded. Tuesday morning, reports say pieces of wreckage and the bodies of victims had been retrieved off the coast of Borneo. The Navy is sending the destroyer USS Sampson to help with continued search and rescue. The Pentagon said it was prepared to include detection equipment deployed by air, surface or sub- surface. The request for aid came to the State Department embassy in Jakarta. The AirAsia A-320 disappeared Sunday in bad weather with 162 people aboard. It was headed to Singapore. (Associated Press)
  • A special inspector general will now keep tabs on the fight against the Islamic State group. Pentagon Inspector General Jon Rymer will review all federal programs related to Operation Inherent Resolve. That includes programs from the Defense Department, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development. State IG Steve Linick will be associate inspector general. Rymer will have to submit quarterly reports to Congress on the operation. He will also have to submit biannual reports to Congress about oversight activities of inspectors general. (DoD IG)
  • The Homeland Security Department Inspector General finds the Secret Service isn’t meeting standards on cybersecurity. IG John Roth says the Secret Service doesn’t require two-step verification to access agency networks. Roth also says the service hasn’t been digitally reporting data about its cyber defenses. That means the Secret Service’s Chief Information Officer can’t continuously monitor network security. Roth said the Secret Service’s cyber lapses puts all of DHS at risk. (DHS OIG)
  • Congress is likely to make decisions on commercial drones next year. The House Tranportation and Oversight Committee will make drone legislation a prioritiy once Congress is back in session. The committee’s bill is expected to explain how to integrate drones into the aviation system. The Federal Aviation Administration wanted to propose rules before the end of December. But government and industry officials said that probably won’t happen until January. After the proposed rules comes out, they’ll likely become final in two to three years. Commerical drone flights are banned, except for a few companies that have exemptions from the FAA. (Associated Press)
  • Accenture Federal Services wins a five-year contract to work on Healthcare.gov. The contract from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is worth $563 million. CMS brought Accenture in at the beginning of the year to fix bugs in the website. The agency swapped out contractor CGI Federal after an initial botched rollout of Healthcare.gov. Accenture said it improved accessibility and enrollment on the site. That includes a system to help CMS respond more quickly to consumer questions. (Accenture )
  • The State Department has submitted to Congress its second annual Magnitsky report. It includes a list of Russians blocked from entering the United States because of human rights violations connected to the case of Sergie Magnitsky. He was a Russian lawyer who died in prison after uncovering a tax fraud committed by Russian officials. State says the list contains 34 names, with 16 added in the past year. They include two high level officials from Chechnya. People on the list are also subject to financial sanctions. State works with the Treasury Department to develop the list. Congress passed and President Obama signed the Magnitsky Act in 2012. (State Department)
  • A New York congressman who pleaded guilty to tax evasion says he’ll resign. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) said he wouldn’t be able to give the job his full attention. His resignation will become effective Jan. 5. Grimm pleaded guilty last week to aiding in the filing of a false tax return. The admission came just after he was re-elected to a third term from Staten Island. The re-election came while Grimm was under indictment. Grimm is a former Marine and FBI agent. (Associated Press)
  • Expect your agency to soon have a BYOU policy — that’s bring your own utensils. The days of free plastic forks, knives and spoons and even cups are about to end. The Government Accountability Office has ruled that unless these and similar items are authorized by law, agencies can’t spend appropriated funds on them. Instead, they’re personal expenses. The ruling comes in a dispute between the Department of Commerce and the National Weather Service Employees Organization. The union negotiated a memorandum of agreement for such freebies in 2009. Commerce ended the practice last year, and the fracas went to the GAO for resolution. (GAO)
  • Defense Secretary nominee Ashton Carter has a transition team. Defense One reports former Defense Business Board Chairman Michael Bayer and Sally Donnolly, a former advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, will join Carter’s team. Twenty-year Navy veteran Dave Copp is also part of his team. (Defense One)

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