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- VA chipping away at oldest disability claims in backlog
- What's the latest on phased retirement?
- New mobile tools gives agencies ‘giant innovation permission slip'
- Congress pressures agencies to speed up office consolidations
- Furlough Friday: Multiple agencies took advantage of holiday weekend
- Data breach puts DHS employees at risk of ID theft
- IRS replaces official in Tea Party controversy
- Commerce nominee sails through hearing
- Obama nominates Archuleta as next OPM director
- FedRAMP achieves another cloud security milestone
- Tangherlini to be nominated as permanent GSA chief
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB reworking financial system requirements
- Federal retirement funds temporarily tapped
- Friday federal headlines - May 24, 2013
Army cuts size, increases efficiency of its vehicle fleet
At the end of fiscal year 2012, the Army's vehicle fleet numbered around 70,800 vehicles, which is about 12,000 less than it had in 2009. As it cuts back on the number of overall vehicles it has, the Army is also assembling a greener, more environmentally friendly fleet.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 15, 2013
Kal Stein, president and CEO of EarthShare, talks about his company's new role as the manager of the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capitol Area. Attorney John Mahoney weighs in on a recent ruling by the EEOC. Gen. Charles Wald of Deloitte talks about the ever-changing aerospace markets. Anne-Marie Fennell of GAO discusses Alaska Native Corporations. Ed Moscatelli discusses how the Army has eliminated 8,000 vehicles.
Suicides in military rise, even as combat lessens
Pentagon figures obtained Monday by The Associated Press show 349 suicides among active-duty troops last year, up from 301 the year before and exceeding the Pentagon's own internal projection of 325.
OMB tells agencies to 'intensify' sequestration planning
Agencies across government should intensify their planning for across-the-board sequestration cuts, according to a Jan. 14 memo to the heads of executive department and agencies from Jeff Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. The memo comes on the heels of similar guidance issued last week by the Defense Department. Meanwhile, the Navy warned of the threat of reduced funding from a short-term spending measure.
Al Qaida pushes deeper into Mali
Mali's president has declared a state of emergency on national television a day after Islamists pushed the closest ever from the north toward government-held territory. President Dioncounda Traore said late Friday that the declaration would remain in effect for 10 days and could be renewed. The president called on mining companies and non-government organizations to give up their pickups and other trucks to the Malian military, raising questions about the capacity of the army. The U.S. is concerned about Mali because of Al Qaida's strong base there.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 14, 2013
Martin Libicki of Rand Corp talks about managing cyber attacks. Kevin Brancato of Bloomberg Government discusses the Canada's decision to pass on the F-35. John Templeton of BlackMoney.com talks about being an African American in IT. Belva Martin of GAO discusses the new network communications strategy.
Air Force's sequestration hit would mean less of everything
Air Force commanders will get orders in the next few days to plan for the possibility of fewer flying hours, providing fewer office supplies and working on fewer IT upgrades. Part of the service's planning will be to figure out how many civilian workers would need to be furloughed and for how long.
FAR Council finalizing nine rules in 2013
The semi-annual regulatory agenda highlights final and proposed changes to the federal acquisition and agency-specific acquisition regulations.
2 sailors request trial in prostitution scandal
Two Navy sailors have rejected administrative punishments for allegedly hiring prostitutes in Colombia last year in a scandal that engulfed members of the military and Secret Service, and both asked for trials by court-martial.
Obama, Karzai agree: It's time to wind down war
Uneasy allies, President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai demonstrated Friday they could agree on one big idea: After 11 years of war, the time is right for U.S. forces to let Afghans do their own fighting. U.S. and coalition forces will take a battlefield back seat by spring and, by implication, go home in larger numbers soon thereafter.
Va. ex-Marine who shot at Pentagon gets 25 years
An ex-Marine convicted of firing shots at the Pentagon and other military targets in 2010 was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison, despite a recent diagnosis of schizophrenia that raised some questions about his sanity.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 11, 2013
Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institutes talks about the $18 billion the government is spending on immigration. Liz Gasster of the Business Roundtable weighs in on the need for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. Ed Zurndorfer, register employee benefit consultant, discusses changes to the tax code.
Pentagon orders planning for civilian furloughs, other cutbacks
Defense Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter told DoD components Thursday to draw up plans for full-year continuing resolution, plus sequestration. The approach to deal with across-the-board cuts would be to freeze civilian hiring, cut training, travel and conferences and reduce business technology expenditures.
Pentagon moving to freeze hiring, delay contracts
The Pentagon will begin taking steps to freeze civilian hiring, delay some contract awards and curtail some maintenance to prepare for drastic budget cuts if Congress can't reach an agreement on a final spending plan, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday.
Changes in 9-11 cases
The chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo military tribunals says he will seek to dismiss one of the eight charges against five prisoners accused of planning and aiding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins has asked a Pentagon official to strike the charge of conspiracy. The prisoners would still face charges that include nearly 3,000 counts of murder and could still get the death penalty. Their trial at the U.S. base in Cuba is likely at least a year away.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 10, 2013
Paul Strasser of Dynamics Research Corporation talks about a new deal his company has with FDA. Marilee Fitzgerald, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity, discusses promoting STEM fields. Tim Scannell of Technology Guide reports from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Sequestration 2.0 would mean furloughs for DoD's entire civilian workforce
New version of sequestration would reduce overall tab to DoD but compress across-the-board cuts into just seven months. A leading-think tank's "back of the envelope" calculations show the military would have to furlough almost every civilian.
Army will keep tanks rolling out of Ohio plant
A new defense spending plan will keep the nation's only tank manufacturing plant operating through the next two years, ending months of worry about the future of the factory where about 800 workers refurbish the Abrams tanks.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 9, 2013
Theresa Kern, a member of Women Construction Owners and Executives, discusses a new provision in the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill that helps women-owned, small construction companies. Grant McLaughlin of Booz Allen Hamilton talks about a new social media guide for feds. Alex Bolton of The Hill newspaper previews the upcoming confirmation season. Matthew Zisman of Bloomberg Government talks about new contracts for NASA.
Congress revises DoD's sequestration starting point
When lawmakers and the White House kicked sequestration two months down the road, they also made changes to how the cuts would be calculated. The Pentagon estimates the impact on the Defense budget would be gentler than before.
