Monday - Friday, 6-10 a.m.

Hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp bring you the latest news affecting the federal community each weekday morning. Be up-to-date before you step in the office.

Lawmakers consider regulating drone strikes

CIA nominee Brennan defends drone strikes, says he doesn't know if waterboarding is effective

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OMB details widespread furloughs, cuts to agency programs under sequestration

OMB details hundreds of thousands of furloughs and cuts to nearly every agency program. Danny Werfel, OMB controller, said the effective percentage cut to each civilian agency would be about 9 percent and 13 percent for DoD over the next seven months.

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NTSB: 787 battery approval should be reconsidered

NTSB: Investigation shows gov't approval of Boeing 787's batteries should be reconsidered

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 8, 2013

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue and Linda Cureton of NASA talks about their upcoming retirements. Register employee benefit consultant Ed Zurndorfer explains what feds can expect from possible furloughs. White House Historical Association Vice President of Research talks about possible renovations at the White House.

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Army to study brain stimulator for TBI patients

Television personality Montel Williams is joining Army scientists at Fort Detrick in a medical research deal.

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Updated: DC federal offices open; New York feds on unscheduled leave, telework

It's business as usual for federal offices in Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. But the New York City Federal Executive Board is recommending an unscheduled leave policy this morning due to an impending winter storm.

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Friday morning federal headlines - Feb. 8, 2013

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air. In today's news, the IRS is claiming success in a nationwide crackdown on suspected identity thieves and GSA wants to bolster security outside the the Commerce Department's headquarters.

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DISA promises fixes to overwhelmed online conferencing system

Cancellations of in-person meetings press DoD's Web conferencing system past its limits. The Defense Information Systems Agency will complete upgrades by Feb. 15.

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Agencies slowly knocking down cybersecurity barriers to going mobile

Through the Digital Government Strategy, several initiatives are underway to address IT security concerns. DHS created a security baseline architecture and is testing it through five use cases. GSA created a new secure online content platform for agencies to move websites and applications into a mobile environment.

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Brennan defends drone strikes, even on Americans

CIA nominee Brennan defends drone strikes, says he doesn't know if waterboarding is effective

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Panetta says US at risk of being second-rate power

Defense secretary warns military readiness crisis coming if automatic budget cuts are allowed

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IRS budget woes, shrinking staff threaten to derail agency

As the Internal Revenue Service prepares to enter tax season full-bore, the agency is faced with a tightened budget, a shrinking workforce and an ever-more complex and increasing workload. That combination, along with leadership changes at the top of agency, threatens to upend the gains IRS has made over the past few years to better manage its workforce, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, an agency watchdog.

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Obama picks outdoor retail exec to lead Interior

Obama nominates REI executive Sally Jewell to lead Interior Department

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Senate panel postpones vote on Hagel nomination

Senate panel postpones vote on Hagel nomination amid Republican calls for more information

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 7, 2013

John Wagner of CBP talks about his agency's new customer service kiosk. Allyson Robinson of OutServe-SLDN discusses legal hurdles facing gay service members seeking equal treatment. Gary Barlet of USPS' Inspector General Office talks about smartphones and tablets. Greg Juneman of IFPTE discusses the impact of potential furloughs on members of his union. Former NASA CIO Molly O'Neill discusses Fed-RAMP security testing.

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Thursday morning federal headlines - Feb. 7, 2013

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air. In today's news, workforce problems at the IRS are raising red flags and a House bill would extend a veterans education benefit.

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Goodbye Saturday mail? Postal Service plans cuts

Financially strapped Postal Service plans to cut Saturday mail, but continue package delivery

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Postal Service's IG's office proclaims 2013 as year of mobile

Gary Barlet, the OIG's chief information officer, is taking a three-pronged approach to helping employees access data from anywhere, at anytime. The steps include virtualization, a BYOD strategy and cloud services.
February 7, 2013

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Pentagon to pare back military pay increase request for 2014

DoD's 2014 budget will ask Congress for a 1 percent increase in military pay, down slightly from previous projections.

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USPS employees to see less overtime, more buyouts under 5-day delivery plan

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the service can no longer afford to delivery first class mail six-days a week. He said cutting back by one day a week would save about $2 billion a year. USPS still would have a $14 billion deficit and needs help from Congress to address other fiscal challenges.

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