Wednesday federal headlines – January 7, 2015

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 rea...

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.

  • Seventy-nine percent of agency human resources staff have a person in mind for a position before filling the vacancy. That’s according to the Merit Systems Protection Board in a new survey of federal hiring practices. MSPB said the federal hiring process is too complicated and it’s difficult to determine just how fair and open agency hiring really is. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Office of Personnel Management’s retirement claims backlog dropped to its lowest point in more than a year. The agency processed more than 6,000 claims in December, bringing the inventory to 11,600 claims. That’s about 1,000 fewer than it had in December 2013. But the agency is likely to see a spike in retirement claims this month. Many people typically file for retirement in January and February. OPM said it expects to receive 19,000 retirement claims this month. ( Federal News Radio)
  • A Navy commander pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges. Jose Luis Sanchez will face sentencing in March. The Justice Department secured an indictment against Navy Captain-select Michael Misiewicz for bribery and conspiracy. Both officers are implicated in the so-called Fat Leonard case. They gave secret ship scheduling information to a Singapore company controlled by Leonard Francis. He used the information to get an advantage in winning ship and submarine services contracts. In turn, Francis supplied Sanchez and others with cash, travel and entertainment, and prostitutes. Sanchez could face 20 years in prison. (Justice Department)
  • Two people, including the gunman, are dead after a shooting at a Veterans Affairs medical clinic in Texas. The El Paso VA Health Care System’s clinic was on lockdown yesterday while authorities responded to the shooting. Stephen Twitty, commanding officer of nearby Fort Bliss said all other VA patients and staff are safe. The clinic remains closed today. Investigators didn’t say if the gunman killed himself, or if someone else killed him. The motive for the shooting is still unknown. (Federal News Radio)
  • Unmanned aircraft used by Customs and Border Protection cost too much, don’t fly enough and catch few illegal border crossers when the drones do fly. That’s according to a study by the Homeland Security inspector general. CBP operates a fleet of 10 Predator B aircraft, equipped with a variety of sensors. It spent $360 million on them. The agency estimated it costs about $2,500 per hour to fly them. But the IG found, the actual cost is $12,000 per hour. The drones only fly a fraction of the time CBP hoped. And the IG found only 2 percent of apprehensions can be attributed to aerial surveillance. It recommended Customs and Border Protection conduct an independent evaluation before buying more of the aircraft. (DHS OIG)
  • The Office of Personnel Management kept federal agencies open yesterday with the option for unscheduled leave or telework. But some federal employees didn’t agree with OPM’s decision. Federal News Radio polled readers to ask if OPM made the right call — 47 percent said agencies should have had a 2-hour delay, 30 percent said OPM made the right call and 22 percent said agency offices should have been closed for the day. (Federal News Radio)
  • Air Force travel cards are getting a tech upgrade. Citibank is working with the Defense Travel Management Office to issue chip and pin government travel cards. The technology embeds a microchip that encrypts transactions and requires another level of authentication. The Air Force said these cards enhance security and convenience. The Chip and PIN technology better protects cardholder’s personal information and the government’s sensitive transaction and payment data. ( Air Force)
  • The Air Force said its drone force is being stretched to its limits. The problem isn’t a lack of unmanned aircraft but instead a lack of manpower. The Pentagon wants 65 drone combat air patrols by this April. It wants to keep drones in orbit, especially as the military fights Islamic State militants. The Daily Beast reports the Air Force doesn’t have enough manpower to operate the drones. On top of that, lots of drone operators are leaving the Air Force because they’re overworked. The Air Force said the Pentagon’s increasing demand for drones will damage readiness and combat capability. (The Daily Beast )
  • The House voted to reauthorize a special committee to investigate the 2012 attack in Benghazi. The attack on an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi killed four Americans, including a U.S. ambassador. A report from the House Intelligence Committee already found the CIA and military acted properly in responding to the attack. It found the U.S. didn’t have an intelligence failure, nor did it delay sending a CIA rescue team. The committee also didn’t find any evidence the CIA was shipping arms from Libya to Syria. (Federal News Radio)
  • One White House technology executive has already left, and another is about to. Chief information officer Karen Britton has returned to the company she worked for before joining the White House staff. She’s now the chief operating officer at e-Management, a woman-owned, minority-owned small business in Silver Spring, Maryland. Deputy CIO Alissa Johnson also said she’ll leave. But she has no definite plans for where she’ll work next. Sources told Federal News Radio that Michael Hornsby, the White House director of operations and engineering, is the acting CIO. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Small Business Administration issued a slew of proposed rule changes. The move came a year after the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill ordered the changes. SBA wants to remove restrictions so that two small companies forming a joint venture can still qualify for federal contracts as a small business. SBA also would rewrite the rules for what percentage of a prime contract can be done by subs. And it would change the calculation for determining if a small business stays small from year to year. (Federal News Radio)
  • The House wasted no time in passing measures that could affect federal agencies. Within hours of taking office, it passed a rule to limit Social Security’s ability to borrow funds from its retirement accounts to cover shortfalls in its disability funds. Under the rule, the transfer would require a tax hike or a cut in benefits. The disability fund is expected to run dry in 2016. House members unanimously passed a bill to encourage small companies to hire veterans. Employees who receive VA or military health care benefits would not count toward the 50-employee threshold at which companies must offer health care insurance. That provision is part of the Affordable Care Act. (Federal News Radio)

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