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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.

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.

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Oracle says Java is fixed; feds maintain warning

Oracle Corp. said Monday it has released a fix for the flaw in its Java software that raised an alarm from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week.

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Sandy relief proposals 'unfairly target' feds, union says

A series of cost-savings amendments to the Superstorm Sandy aid bill the House will consider this week has drawn the ire of a federal-employee union who say the proposals "unfairly target" government workers. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) has proposed defraying some of the costs of the $50 billion recovery package by rescinding a mass-transit tax benefit for federal employees and by ordering more across-the-board agency budget cuts.

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AP source: Duncan to stay at education department

An Education Department official says Secretary Arne Duncan will remain in President Barack Obama's Cabinet into a second term. The official disclosed the decision Monday on the condition of anonymity because a public announcement has not been made.

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Napolitano, Vilsack to stay in Obama's second term

Janet Napolitano and Tom Vilsack will both stay on as cabinet secretaries in President Barack Obama's second term.

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Hitting the debt limit: What bills would be paid?

Reiterating a threat he first issued in the summer of 2011, President Barack Obama on Monday warned Republicans that older Americans might not get their Social Security checks and veterans won't get timely benefits if Congress fails to increase the government's borrowing authority.

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Boehner: GOP will pass 'responsible' debt bill

Speaker John Boehner says the GOP-controlled House will "do its job" and pass legislation to lift the nation's borrowing cap and keep the government running, but will insist that Democrats accept new spending controls.

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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.

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Monday morning federal headlines - Jan. 14, 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, OPM recommends overhauling the Combined Federal Campaign.

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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.

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Treasury: Trillion-dollar coin would not be legal

Treasury Department spokesman Anthony Coley said Saturday that neither his department nor the Federal Reserve believes the law can or should be used to produce such a $1 trillion coin to avoid a coming battle with Congress over government borrowing.

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US government tells computer users to disable Java

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is advising people to temporarily disable the Java software on their computers to avoid potential hacking attacks.

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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.

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Inside the Reporter's Notebook: GSA FAS, shared services and DHS contract awards

News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.

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Historic buildings throw wrench in agencies real-property efforts

In a new report, the Government Accountability Office found tighter budgets in recent years have constrained agencies' ability to maintain and repair historic buildings and that poor data practices have led to inconsistent and erroneous information on a database designed to track federal properties.

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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.

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Fed agency retracts reprimand to flatulent worker

A federal government agency did more than wrinkle its nose at an employee's flatulence problem, issuing an official reprimand after months of malodors. But the agency said Friday that it has since retracted the rebuke.

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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.

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Boehner invites Obama to give State of the Union

House Speaker John Boehner (BAY'-nur) has invited President Barack Obama to deliver the State of the Union speech on Feb. 12.

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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.

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