Thursday federal headlines – May 14, 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.

  • Defense Secretary Ash Carter nominated two officers to take the top military slots at the Army and Navy. Both positions require Senate confirmation. He selected Adm. John Richardson, head of the Navy’s nuclear reactor program, as the next chief of naval operations. Richardson ordered the investigation that led to discovery of a cheating scandal in the Navy’s nuclear training program. Carter nominated Gen. Mark Milley as the next chief of staff. Milley is head of Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He’s the officer who reviewed the case of Bowe Bergdhal, a soldier captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Milley made the decision to charge Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Justice Department picked an acting director for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Chuck Rosenberg is chief of staff to FBI Director James Comey and a former U.S. attorney. He replaced Michele Leonhart, who was forced to retire as DEA chief last month. A report questions how she handled misconduct by agents. They allegedly attended sex parties with prostitutes while working abroad. (Federal News Radio )
  • As Amtrak struggles to recover from the deadly derailment near Philadelphia, it’s also facing a big budget battle. The House Appropriations Committee voted to cut Amtrak’s budget by $251 million next year, taking it to $1.1 billion. In his 2016 request, President Barack Obama asked for more than twice that amount. Yesterday’s vote was along party lines, with Republicans approving the cuts over Democratic objections. Much of the increase sought by the administration would pay for track, tunnel and bridge improvements on the Northeast corridor, Amtrak’s busiest route. (Federal News Radio)
  • Two off-duty senior Secret Service agents were probably alcohol-impaired when they drove a government car onto White House grounds one night in March. That’s according to Homeland Security inspector general John Roth. He issued his report on the incident last evening. The investigation found the two agents, Marc Conolly and George Ogilvie, had spent five hours at a bar. They ran a tab of 14 drinks. Ogilvie said several of the drinks on his tab went to other patrons. He was placed on administrative leave. Connolly announced his retirement just before the report came out. (Federal News Radio)
  • The House approved a bill to change how the National Security Agency collects metadata. The USA Freedom Act passed on a vote of 338 to 88. The bill would require the NSA to obtain court approval, before it collets data from phone companies. So collection would be on a case-by-case basis. House lawmakers wanted to pass the bill before provisions in the Patriot Act expired in June. The USA Freedom Act has support from the White House, but it’s unclear what will happen in the Senate. (Federal News Radio)
  • Some members of Congress haven’t given up on the idea of clawing back bonuses already paid to Veterans Affairs employees. The idea is very much alive in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, which discussed it yesterday. GovExec reports the provision is part of a bill introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R- N.H.). It has a Democratic co-sponsor, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). It would rescind the bonus of any VA employee involved with manipulating data related to wait times for VA medical centers. Supervisors would also have to pay back their bonuses if they could have reasonably known about wrong-doing. Employees could appeal their clawbacks to the Merit Systems Protection Board. (GovExec)
  • Three Senators want the IRS to notify people who might be victims of identity theft. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) introduced the Social Security Identity Defense Act of 2015. The bill requires the IRS to tell individuals if their Social Security number might have been fraudulently used. The agency also has to tell that information to law enforcement. The Social Security Administration would have to tell employers whose workers might be identity theft victims. The bill extends jail time for those who commit the identity fraud. (Sen. Ron Johnson)
  • Lawmakers want Customs and Border Protection to analyze data before expanding fencing along the U.S. Mexico border. The agency has put in place sensors, drones, radar and other surveillance technologies along the border. But auditors said CBP hasn’t fully looked at the data those devices produce. At a hearing yesterday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said proposals to expand the fence could cost $2.5 billion. FCW reports, Booker said CBP should find out if it gets a return on investment, before throwing money at building a fence. (FCW)

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