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.

Energy Secretary Chu to step down

Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who won a Nobel Prize in physics but came under questioning for his handling of a solar energy loan, is stepping down.

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Shriek! Texts on missing kids startle cell users

The next time a child is abducted near you, your cellphone may shriek to life with an alert message.

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THE RESET: Gov't slowing economic and job growth

President Barack Obama declared last June that "the private sector is doing fine." And President Ronald Reagan liked to tell audiences, "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Two major economic reports this week seem to lend some new weight to both provocative assertions.

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Teenage hacker sentenced in UK for cyber-attacks

A British court has sentenced a teenage hacker to youth rehabilitation after he and other members of the Anonymous movement carried out cyber-attacks targeting financial sites like PayPal and Visa.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 1, 2013

Sharon Roth of the Merit Systems Protection Board discusses a new survey on federal management. Lt. Cmdr. Jean Marie Sullivan of the Navy Office of Women's Policy talks about the new DoD decision to open up combat jobs to women. Greg Kutz, a senior audit executive with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Audit, talks about a new report his agency released. Keith Lucas, vice president for AFGE Council 228, discusses a new contract his union signed with the Small Business Administration.

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Friday morning federal headlines - Feb. 1, 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, Chuck Hagel faces tough questioning at Senate hearing and an immigration proposal calls for more border security.

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GSA's strategy for OASIS leaving vendors discontented

At an industry sponsored event, GSA tried to clarify its plans for the multi-billion dollar governmentwide contract, which will let agencies buy complex services from one place. Questions about how OASIS fits with the administration's strategic sourcing initiative and the expectation for price standardization were among the biggest areas of concern from companies.

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VA testing cash prizes to improve its health record system

The Department of Veterans Affairs is trying out a new system of contests to make upgrades to its electronic medical record system. The agency plans to award up to three prizes worth $3 million to vendors who create open-source based components to VistA.

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US looking at action against China cyberattacks

The Obama administration is considering more assertive action against Beijing to combat a persistent cyber-espionage campaign it believes Chinese hackers are waging against U.S. companies and government agencies.

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New SBA union contract emphasizes flexible work policies

The Small Business Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees inked a new three-year deal Thursday, extending a number of flexible workplace policies to more than 2,000 federal employees. Among the new benefits are streamlined telework privileges and the ability for employees to opt in to a four-day work-week with expanded hours each day.

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Congress sends bill to Obama averting govt default

Congress sent President Barack Obama drama-free legislation on Thursday raising the debt ceiling, averting a government default and putting off the next tax-and-spending clash between the White House and Republicans until later in the year.

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DoD slow to codify some interagency contracting standards

Despite a big policy push from the administration, some agencies have lagged in implementing guidance dealing with interagency contracting, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. Still, GAO said the creation of a policy framework by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy had gone a long way toward ameliorating some of the issues that landed interagency contracting on the watchdog agency's high-risk list eight years ago, such as duplication and unclear lines of authority between agencies.

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APNewsBreak: Afghan massacre trial set for Sept.

A military judge has scheduled a Sept. 3 court martial for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the U.S. soldier accused of massacring 16 Afghan villagers during nighttime raids last year, his lawyer said Thursday.

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OMB lays out 11 goals to give Section 508 some punch

Steven VanRoekel, the federal chief information officer, and Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Joe Jordan issued a memo detailing a new strategic plan after a recent Justice Department compliance survey found mixed results. This is the fourth memo since 2005 from the Office of Management and Budget trying to get agencies to meet the law's requirements. David Capozzi, executive director of the Access Board, said new 508 regulations could be to OMB for approval this spring.

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Joint Chiefs: Looming cuts would 'hollow' military

The military's top leaders are warning Congress that automatic spending cuts looming in March would force the Pentagon to slash operating budgets, weakening the armed forces and possibly forcing furloughs of 800,000 civilian employees.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 31, 2013

Mort Rosenberg of the Constitution Project details the implications of a recent court ruling on recess appointments by the Obama administration. Cameron Leuthy of Bloomberg Government talks about nine civilian agency programs that look particularly ripe for a little carving. OFPP Administrator Joe Jordan discusses data collection. Al Banghart of Deloitte Consulting LLP discusses why federal agencies and Congress are concerned about the supply chain.

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Thursday morning federal headlines - Jan. 31, 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 Office of Management and Budget now says March 4 is the earliest the White House will send its proposal to Congress.

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DoD moves meetings online, but IT systems can't keep pace

Spending on conferences is among first casualties as various defense components make cutbacks. DoD's online meeting service is suffering from its own popularity.

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Congress grapples with gap on scofflaw contractors

With thousands of civilian contractors remaining in Iraq and Afghanistan, Justice Department officials want Congress to resolve a legal issue that they say obstructs efforts to prosecute any such workers who rape, kill or commit other serious crimes abroad.

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Employees skeptical of managers' ability to cut deadwood

Federal employees are skeptical their managers are making effective decisions about the federal workforce, according to a new report from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Just 24 percent of the employees agreed that their agencies properly addressed poor performers, while 29 percent of respondents indicated their organizations eliminated unnecessary programs and positions, according to the survey of 42,000 feds from 24 agencies and departments.

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FDA proposes sweeping new food safety rules

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.

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