DoD News 
Top News
- Congress pressures agencies to consolidate office space
- Katherine Archuleta chosen as next OPM director
- Data breach puts DHS workers at risk of identity theft
- DoD chooses interoperability over integration for new e-health system
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB fuels synergy between mobile, open data
- IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'
- Accountability breakdown leading factor in DoD sexual assaults
- OMB reworking financial system requirements
- Federal retirement funds temporarily tapped
- VanRoekel to lead OMB management team
- Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal finalists
- Thursday federal headlines - May 23, 2013
Obama defense pick could come sooner than expected
President Barack Obama could name his next defense secretary in December, far sooner than expected and perhaps in a high-powered package announcement with his choice for secretary of state.
Senate moves forward with plan to reduce DoD civilian workforce
The Senate moved forward with a plan to require the Defense Department to reduce its civilian workforce by 5 percent over the next five years, after a measure striking that provision was defeated in a vote Friday. Earlier this week, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) introduced an amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, which would lift a mandated 5 percent reduction to DoD's civilian and contractor workforces over five years. But in a 53-41 vote, Cardin's amendment was defeated.
US acquiring Israeli missile system
The U.S. military wants the "Iron Dome". Israel used the technology to knock 85% of the missiles Hamas fired at them from Gaza recently, out of the sky. Israel has agreed to give the United States the know-how needed to produce interceptors, but it is not interested in co-production yet. The United States has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to assist Israeli or joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense programs like David's Sling. Iron Dome was developed by Israel on its own.
White House threatens to veto Senate Defense bill
The White House is threatening to veto the $631 billion annual Defense bill the Senate is debating this week unless Congress makes changes. The administration took issue with a number of provisions included in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Bill, which Senate leaders hope to vote on by the end of the week.
Senate gives green light to Pentagon green energy
The Senate on Wednesday gave the green light to the Pentagon's investment in green energy. By a vote of 62-37 on Wednesday, the Senate backed an amendment that would delete a provision in the defense bill prohibiting the military from spending money on alternative fuels if the cost exceeded traditional fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil. The Pentagon has opposed the provision that a sharply divided Senate Armed Services Committee added in May.
Senate directs VA to work with state agencies to clear up claims backlog
The Senate unanimously approved a measure requiring the Veterans Affairs Department to work more closely with state agencies to reduce a longstanding and growing backlog of disability claims. The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) was included as an amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.
$20B in Defense MAC's & e-health records stand up to Sandy
On this week's Capital Impact show, analysts examine multiple award contracts at the Defense Department and how e-health records helped patients during Hurricane Sandy.
Al Qaida strikes again
Gunmen shot dead a Saudi diplomat and his Yemeni bodyguard in Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Wednesday. Reuters is reporting the attack, "according to a local security source, was the work of al Qaida. The killing, the latest attack on security officials and politicians in the U.S.-allied state, underscores the challenges facing Yemen since an uprising that began last year toppled President Ali Abdullah Saleh."
Senate debates 'arbitrary' cuts to DoD civilian workforce
Senators attempt to head off provision in annual Defense bill that would require reductions among Pentagon civilians.
Players in budget war game plot $500B in Defense cuts
This past summer, defense experts gathered into teams to map out how to cut DoD's budget by a half trillion dollars over 10 years. The results from the game provide some guidance on ways to make the cut happen in real life based on strategic choices, the organizers say.
Women want combat rules changed
Four servicewomen and the American Civil Liberties Union have sued the U.S. Defense Department hoping to end a ban on women in combat. They claim it's discriminitory and modern warfare has already put women in combat. The ACLU argued in federal court in Northern California Tuesday that the military policy barring women from combat just because of their gender was unconstitutional. The Pentagon says it's examining the expansion of roles for women in the U.S. military.
Navy fires president, provost of grad school
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus fires the top two administrators at the Naval Postgraduate School for mismanagement and fostering an atmosphere of defying Navy rules and regulations.
Female military members sue to serve in combat
Four female service members filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat, hoping the move will add pressure to drop the policy just as officials are gauging the effect that lifting the prohibition will have on morale.
Federal Drive interviews - Nov. 27, 2012
A charity event next week raises funds for military members. Plus, the do's and don'ts of holiday giving (and receiving) at the workplace.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Nov. 26, 2012
Randy Williamson, director of health care Issues at GAO, talks about the progress being made at Walter Reed Medical Center. Blogger Tom Cochran shares trivia about some government buildings in Washington, D.C. Dr. Jacques Gansler discusses a new master's degree program focusing on federal acquisition and contracting. Jeff Neal of ICF International discusses the results of the 2012 Employee Viewpoint Survey. Christi Grimm of the Inspector General's Office talks about mispayments by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Daniel Schuman of the Sunlight Foundation discusses open data from the federal government.
Obama may get chance to end Benghazi PR disaster
The White House could finally have its chance to close the books on its Benghazi public relations disaster, as key Republicans signal they might not stand in the way of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to become the next secretary of state.
9 more Iraq, Afghan war veterans joining Congress
As Tammy Duckworth sees it, her path to Congress began when she awoke in the fall of 2004 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She was missing both of her legs and faced the prospect of losing her right arm.
Internal emails offer details on bin Laden burial
Internal emails among U.S. military officers indicate that no sailors watched Osama bin Laden's burial at sea from the USS Carl Vinson and traditional Islamic procedures were followed during the ceremony
Defense experts debate sequestration's impact
There's a little more than a month to go until sequestration kicks in, taking more than a $1 trillion from agency budgets over 10 years unless Congress finds a way to agree on a Plan B for deficit reduction. In this week's edition of On DoD, Jared Serbu, Federal News Radio's DoD reporter, talks with several defense experts about sequestration and the Defense budget in a second term under President Obama:
Navy to briefly reduce carriers in Persian Gulf
The Navy said Wednesday it will temporarily shrink its aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf area from two to one because of a mechanical problem with the USS Nimitz, a carrier based in Everett, Wash.
