Tuesday federal headlines – February 17, 2015

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.

• Ash Carter was sworn in as the new Defense Secretary. He will be meeting with Deputy Secretary Bob Work, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey and later with President Barack Obama. Carter said embracing change and building up the future force are some of his top priorities. (Defense)
• Wages, benefits and customer service are up for negotiation between the U.S. Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union. It’s the first time in 4 1/2 years APWU and the Postal Servcie will negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. It’s also a first for new Postmaster General Megan Brennan. (APWU)
• The Army is considering easing its policy on transgender soldiers. It issued a draft memo, known as an All Army Activities directive. Under the memo, only the assistant secretary of the Army for personnel would be able to discharge those soldiers. That would make it more difficult to remove transgender troops from the service. Right now, lower level Army officers can decide to discharge transgender soldiers. (USA Today)
• Federal offices in the Washington, D.C. area are closed today because of the snow. Agencies under jurisdiction of the Baltimore Federal Executive Board are also closed today. Emergency workers and telework-ready employees are generally required to work, and to follow their agencies’ policies. The D.C. area got an overnight dumping of about 6 inches of show. Temperatures remained in the teens, causing icy road conditions. (Federal News Radio)
• Health and Human Services extended the open enrollment for health care insurance until Feb. 22. The original deadline was Sunday. That’s because a computer glitch, now fixed, had stymied some users trying to enroll. The Obama administration marshaled a public drive to get people to sign up using volunteers and e-mail reminders. The President himself, at WhiteHouse.gov, admonished people to sign up. But officials haven’t released any statistics on how many people have signed up this year. (Federal News Radio)
• Some veterans are saying choice cards are confusing and causing stress. The program is meant to reduce patient wait times at Veterans Affairs medical clinics. The cards allow veterans who have been waiting long or live far from a VA facility to see a private doctor. Veterans can use a choice card if they live more than 40 miles from a clinic. But the VA said that’s 40 miles in a straight line, not in Google Maps directions. And VA doctors emailed the Washington Post, saying they didn’t understand how to use the program. Twenty-seven thousand veterans have made appointments for private care using their cards. (Washington Post)
• The Transportation Security Administration canceled a request for proposals for commercial data analysis related to its passenger Pre-Check system. Federal Times reports critics said the TSA was turning over to the private sector the job of determining who poses security threats. In its December RFI, the agency said it was expending the Pre-Check program. It was seeking vendors who could mine publicly available, commercial data about travelers signing up for the program. (Federal Times )
• The Army awarded the U.S. division of Airbus an order for 41 new Lakota helicopters. Defense News reports, the order is worth $220 million. The light duty helos will be used as flight trainers at Fort Rucker, Alabama. It’s part of a plan to replace older training helicopters made by Bell. The Airbus order also covers radio communications systems for the choppers. When the order is finished in 2017, the Army will have a total of 411 Lakota helicopters, mostly for the Army and National Guard. (Defense News )
• Auditors found that 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 found weaknesses in how SBA certifies businesses. The agency doesn’t require firms that want to be re-certified to submit any information showing they’re still eligible. GAO said that increases the risk that ineligible firms get HUB Zone contracts. Auditors recommended SBA put in more controls and guidance for the recertificiation process. (GAO )
• 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 had post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and that affected his judgment. Rambo’s sentencing is scheduled for May 29. (Federal News Radio)
• The Defense Department shut down two websites publishing regional news in Africa. AFRICOM awarded General Dynamics a contract to operate the sites, but legislation defunded the websites a year ago. The sites are part of the Trans Regional Web Initiative. The Pentagon said the initiative’s goal is to influence perceptions and behavior of foreign audiences, in support of U.S. government and military policy. But the Government Accountability Office found the program wasn’t effective and was wasting money. It was ordered closed as part of the fiscal 2014 Defense Authorization Act. (FCW)

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