Friday federal headlines – May 22, 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 Obama said he’ll nominate Denise Turner Roth as the next administrator of the General Services Administration. She’s now the acting administrator, taking over after Dan Tangherlini left in February. The nomination is subject to Senate approval. As acting boss, Roth has overseen the consolidation of GSA’s IT, human resources and financial functions. Before joining the agency last year, she was the city manager or Greensboro, North Carolina. (Federal News Radio )
  • The White House wants to teach old dogs some new tricks. It wants contracting officers to improve their skills at buying something intangible — digital services. The U.S. Digital Service and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy offer challenge grants totaling $360,000 dollars for ideas leading to better training. The project envisions a digital services acquisition certification program. It would ultimately be administered by the Federal Acquisition Institute and National Acquisition University. Training could take as long as six months to complete. The challenge comes as agencies each establish their own digital services teams, as required by the White House. (Federal News Radio)
  • A lawmaker slammed the Small Business Administration for flaws in the procurement process. About a quarter of government contracts need to go to small businesses. Sen. David Vitter said some of those contracts are going to firms that don’t qualify as small businesses, but they’re still being counted to meet the 23 percent benchmark. In a letter to SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, Vitter recalls numbers from 2013. He said the administration reported meeting the 23 percent goal. But later, it was discovered that $400 million in contracts went to firms that don’t qualify as small businesses. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Senate Appropriations Committee passed an outline for the dozen 2016 spending bills it must pass before Sept. 30. Bloomberg reports the vote was on party lines, 16 to 14. The spending plan is close to that adopted by the House, with cuts to labor, health and education programs. The committee envisions total spending of slightly over $1 trillion, the amount allowed under the Budget Control Act and the Senate’s own, earlier budget resolution. The outline cuts spending by the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education departments by $3.6 billion dollars. The IRS would also get nicked by more than $1 billion dollars. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) called the plan very Spartan, and says her party might try and block individual bills later on. (Bloomberg)
  • The Air Force released a master plan to train and equip its forces over the next several years. The plan lays out 12 strategic goals for the Air Force, along with objectives and tasks to meet each of those goals. The plan also includes annexes related to recruitment, capabilities and science and technology. The Air Force said its document “bridges the gap” between broad ideas and actions needed to meet the service’s mission. The plan keeps in mind limited budgets and resources. Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said “If we can’t afford it, it doesn’t go in the plan.” (Air Force)
  • The Federal Aviation Administration tries out a new communication system. Data Comm lets pilots and air traffic controllers talk via computer messages, instead of verbally. It’s one of the many parts of FAA’s NextGen systems. The agency said Data Comm reduces delays and cuts down on errors that happen during voice transmissions. FAA has been testing the system at Newark, New Jersey and Memphis airports since 2013. It wants to have Data Comm in place at 56 airports by the end of next year. (Federal News Radio)
  • Everyone seems to be talking about the Veterans Affairs’ Denver hospital project, but it’s not the only construction that’s delayed and over budget. A hospital in New Orleans is expected to cost nearly $1 billion and be done next February. The original estimate was $625 million, with a completion date last December. Auditors said the plan was to build the hospital with Louisiana State University, but veterans objected. So VA decided to build its own facility, which meant more costs. A hospital in Orlando opened in February, but was originally scheduled to open in April 2010. It ended up costing $600 million instead of the original price tag of $250 million. The site location changed three times before construction started. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Army is hard at work on a new multiple award contract for technology hardware. Army Desktop and Mobile Computing 3 will replace ADMC 2, which expires next year. Bloomberg reports ADMC 3 is likely to have a ceiling of five billion dollars over a planned 10-year lifespan. The Army will use it to buy computers of all sizes and shapes, all of them commercial off-the-shelf. The current indefinite deliver, indefinite quantity program is available to all federal agencies without ordering fees. The Army is likely to continue that policy for ADMC 3. Under the current contract, Dell has gotten more than half of the orders in terms of dollars, followed by CDWG. Awards aren’t expected until early next year. (Bloomberg)

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