Monday federal headlines – February 16, 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 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.

  • President Barack Obama is taking more of an interest in government procurement. The Federal Acquisition Service is pitching acquisition reforms to the President. Obama wants to focus more on category management and the common acquisition platform and they could help agencies save more money. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Postal Service’s IT system is back up and running after a technical problem took down some of its email accounts. USPS said it was a hardware installation problem that caused its systems to go down. (Federal News Radio)
  • House Speaker John Boehner has raised the possibility of a Homeland Security Department shutdown. He said the House has done its work in passing a full year funding bill. But it contains language overturning President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration. That provision has prevented passage in the Senate, where majority leader Mitch McConnell has declared stalemate. The argument over the immigration provision has become bitter. This week, the Senate is not in session. Homeland Security funding expires at the end of the following week, Feb. 27. (Federal News Radio)
  • A former soldier pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a federal agent. The soldier, known as Rambo, agreed to spend 10 years to life in prison. He admited he conspired to kill a Drug Enforcement Administration agent in an $800,000 hit. The agent was supposedly giving DEA information about a narcotics trafficking association. Rambo was to lead the hit team. Rambo’s attorney said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and that affected his judgment. Rambo’s sentencing is scheduled for May 29. (Federal News Radio)
  • Postal Service systems are back up and running after a network outage last week. The glitch brought down the agency’s email system. The Postal Service said the problem was a result of a hardware installation, not a cyber attack. The outage affected package handling at some local post offices. But it didn’t affect mail processing or delivery. (Federal News Radio)
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched a satellite that will warn when solar storms are heading to Earth. NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory, called DSCOVR (Discover), will take about 100 days to reach its destination. It will orbit a million miles from Earth, between Earth and the Sun. NOAA said the satellite will give forecasters more reliable measures of solar wind conditions and potentially harmful solar activity. A major solar storm could disrupt telecommunications, the energy grid and GPS systems and cost up to $2 trillion. (Commerce)
  • Service members are graduating from an Energy Department program, prepared to take on careers in the solar industry. It’s part of Energy’s SunShot Initiative. The program trains 200 transitioning service members for solar energy jobs. They learn how to install solar panels, safely connect electricity to the grid and comply with local building codes. Participating military bases include Camp Pendleton, Fort Carson and Naval Station Norfolk. They’re using the Defense Department’s SkillBridge initiative, which lets military personnel get civilian job training up to six months before their separation date. (Energy)
  • President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity summit in Silicon Valley became something of a referendum on the government’s privacy policies. Obama called on industry to do more data sharing of cyber threat information. He signed an executive order putting the Homeland Security Department in charge of voluntary corporate sharing networks. But executives expressed concern over privacy, citing the government’s requests for user data from companies like Twitter and Google. Apple CEO Tim Cook warned of dire consequences if the government and industry did’t get privacy right. (Federal News Radio)
  • The FAA came up with proposed rules for small drones to operate in U.S. air space. They apply to aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds. The rules call for drones to only operate in daylight, stay within view of the operator, and not go higher than 500 feet. And, they have to operate five miles away from airports. The White House issued a set of provisions to prevent misuse of data gathered by drones operated by the government. They required personally identifiable information to be discarded after 180 days. Before operating drones, agencies must review privacy and civil liberties protections. (Federal News Radio/FAA)
  • U.S. defense contractors are angling for sales in a country newly energized by the threat of war — Poland. Agence France-Presse reports Poland has earmarked $42 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade its forces. Polish leaders are worried that Russian incursions in Ukraine mean European countries could be next. Sikorsky is competing with Agusta-Westland and Airbus for helicopter orders. Raytheon wants to sell Patriot missile systems. It’s competing with the European consortium MBDA. Ten Polish manufacturers have formed a consortium of their own to work as subcontractors with a foreign partner. (Defense News)
  • Auditors found the Small Business Administration could improve oversight businesses in rural areas. The Historically Underutilized Business Zones, or HUB Zones, are based on demographics like unemployment and poverty. But the Government Accountability Office fould weaknesses in how SBA certifies businesses. The agency doesn’t require firms that want to be recertified to submit any information showing they’re still eligible. GAO said that increases the risk that ineligible firms receiving HUB Zone contracts. Auditors recommended SBA put in more controls and guidance for the recertificiation process. (GAO)
  • The Navy developed a robot to fight fires on board ships. The man-sized robot is 5-foot-10, 140 pounds and stands on two legs. It can wear the same fire protection suit that human firefighters wear and use equipment already available to sailors. The robot can see through smoke, detect a heat source and extinguish a fire with a hose. Sailors would be able to follow the robot once it detected a fire and help extinguish it. The robot is still in the testing phase and the Navy said it was at least five years away from getting the technology ready for procurement. (Federal News Radio)

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