Monday federal headlines – May 11, 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.

• Agencies have eight new steps for implementing the Data Transparency Accountability Act. The Office of Management and Budget said agencies should appoint one senior official as the point of contact for making sure the agency compiles with the DATA Act. Agencies should also create an implementation timeline and point to any challenges they might have in meeting those goals. (Federal News Radio)

• The Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs Department have the most productive inspectors general. Brookings Institution calculated the five-year average return on investment for 15 cabinet level departments and four independent agencies. SSA has a consistently high return on investment because it delivers direct payments to the public. (Veterans Affairs)
• More than 77,000 full-time federal employees were let go between fiscal 2010 to 2014 because of performance or conduct issues. The Merit System Protection Board outlines a few common federal workforce misconceptions in a new report. (Federal News Radio)
• The Information Security Oversight Office published a draft rule detailing standard ways federal agencies should manage controlled, unclassified information. The office is part of the National Archives. The new rules aim to rein in what the public notice calls ad-hoc, agency-specific policies, procedures and markings. The White House issued an order back in 2010 to pare down the more than 100 markings agencies use for unclassified, controlled information. The new rules call for a each agency to designate a Senior Executive Service member to oversee CUI handling and ensure it complies with Archives guidance. The rules are open for comment until July 7. (Federal Register)
• In her first visible act as Attorney General, Loretta Lynch said the Justice Department will plunge into what Lynch sees as problems with the Baltimore Police Department. It won’t be a new activity for the department. Under Lynch’s predecessor, Eric Holder, Justice investigated some 20 police departments. Officials look for unfair policing practices and create court-enforceable agreements between Justice and the police organization. The Baltimore move follows several weeks of tension punctuated by riots following the death of a suspect in custody. Justice’s help was requested by Baltimore’s mayor. (Federal News Radio)
• The Postal Service lost $1.5 billion in the first three months of this year. The agency said it delivered 420 million fewer pieces of mail than in the first quarter of 2014. First-class mail fell 2.1 percent, and standard fell 1.1 percent. But the Postal Service does report delivering 14 percent more packages and that means a slight increase in operating revenue. Joseph Corbett, the agency’s chief financial officer, said the Postal Service needs to invest in infrastructure and delivery vehicles, and that will improve margins for package deliveries. (Federal News Radio)
• President Barack Obama nominated Ann Calvaresi Barr as inspector general at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She’s been the deputy IG at the Transportation Department since 2010. Before that, Barr was at the Government Accountability Office. Michael Carroll had been nominated for USAID IG, but withdrew his nomination last October. He had been acting IG at the agency since 2011. (White House)
• The Agriculture Department wants to hire more young employees with diverse backgrounds. It works with the Office of Personnel Management to host events at minority serving institutions. USDA hiring managers collect job applications, do interviews and sometimes offer internships or jobs on the spot. So far the department has hosted five events and collected a total of 795 applications. USDA said it wants to make sure students and recent graduates are aware of available positions. It also said the federal hiring process can be long and frustrating, and these events are designed to make that easier. OPM will look at how other agencies can implement comparable hiring models. (USDA)
• The Senate Armed Services Committee marked up its 2016 Defense authorization bill today in secret session. When it does, members may hear their phones ringing in the background. Some 60 good-government groups are participating in a phone blitz to pressure the committee to conduct the markup in public. GovExec reports the phone-in is organized by the Project on Government Oversight. Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) called for a closed-door mark up. Several members say they prefer to have it open, including Sens. Claire McCaskell (D-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). (Gov Exec)
• The Defense Department has paid National Football League teams $5.4 million over the past four years for tributes to service members during games. WCVB in Boston reports, more than $1 million went to the Atlanta Falcons alone. The Baltimore Ravens received $884,000. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) called the payments federally-funded feel-good moments. The payments typically cover events such as those staged by the New York Jets. One or two soldiers are shown on the stadium big screen with their names announced, and the audience is asked to thank them. They and several friends receive premium seats to the game. National Journal first published the list of 14 teams receiving payments. (WCVB)

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