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.

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.

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DoD contractor pays Iraqis held at Abu Ghraib, other sites $5M

Engility Holdings Inc. of Chantilly, whose subsidiary was accused in a lawsuit of conspiring to torture detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, has paid $5.28 million to former prisoners held there and at other U.S.-run detention sites in Iraq during the war.

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GOP senator threatens delay on CIA nomination

President Barack Obama's choice of John Brennan to be the next CIA director hit a snag Tuesday as a Republican senator threatened to delay the nomination until the Obama administration provides answers on the deadly assault in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

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Second VA official resigns over conference spending

Alice Muellerweiss, the dean of VA's Learning University, resigned, joining John Sepulveda, the agency's former chief human capital officer. As many as 10 others are under review for their actions or parts in what the IG called a lack of oversight.

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Avoiding 'cliff jumpers' and other tips for effective social-media use at agencies

While social media has permeated nearly all aspects of American life, in many corners of the government, employees and managers are still figuring out how Facebook, Twitter and a host of other digital technologies can help them do their jobs better. A new report from the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton presents case studies of effective uses of social media and provides tips for developing a coherent strategy.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 8, 2013

Martin Libicki of Rand Corp talks about the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill. Dov Zakheim reviews what DoD Secretary-nominee Chuck Hagel can expect from Congress. Attorney Mark Schamel explains how the Defense Authorization Bill helps off-duty law enforcement agents. Erik Olson of the Pew Health Group discusses new food safety rules issued by the FDA. John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service previews the SAMMIE nomination process. Katherine McFate discusses OMB Watch's name change.

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Tuesday morning federal headlines - Jan. 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 SEC draws criticism for spending $8.5 million on consultants and one California senator plans to question CIA Director-nominee John Brennan about the agency's use of torture.

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GSA adopts new mileage reimbursement rates

The agency raised the rate for using a privately owned vehicle to $0.565 per mile. Rates for airplane travel and motorcycles also went up.

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Deal restores severance pay for military gays

Dozens of gay and lesbian former military service members who were discharged due to their homosexuality will receive the rest of their severance pay under a settlement approved Monday by a federal court.

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MSPB eyes gaps in employee motivation

From tightened purse strings to a rapidly retiring workforce, federal agencies face a potential witches' brew when it comes to maintaining employee motivation, the Merit Systems Protection Board found in a new report. While overall motivation levels remain high, MSPB pointed to two potential gaps: Many federal employees do not feel all that motivated by the specific characteristics of their jobs, and they increasingly feel that job performance is disconnected from reward.

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Gov't spent $18 billion on immigration enforcement

The Obama administration spent more money on immigration enforcement in the last fiscal year than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined, according to a report on the government's enforcement efforts from a Washington think tank.

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December sees fewer feds retiring

Fewer federal employees filed for retirement in December than in any other month in 2012, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Even with the fewer than expected number of claims, however, the agency failed to meet its goal of processing 11,500 claims, instead clocking in just 10,454.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 7, 2013

Jimmy Christianson of the Associated General Contractors of America discusses government construction projects currently underway. Billy House of the National Journal talks about an article he wrote on the new Congress. Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, talks about GSA's Multiple Awards Schedule. Tim Solms of Microsoft discusses a new deal his company signed with DoD. Lisa Wolfe of Federal News Radio sheds light on a new website for federal job seekers. Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government talks about the new bill providing federal Sandy relief spending.

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Monday morning federal headlines - Jan. 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, HUD is "vigorously" enforcing new anti-discrimination rule and the Library of Commerce has archived about 170 billion tweets.

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White House to mandate machine-readable open data

The guidance is two months late, but OMB is expected to issue it in early 2013. Todd Park, the federal CTO, said the White House also is updating the Data.gov platform and expanding the approach to healthcare data to other sectors.

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CBO: 'Cliff' deal leaves big deficits in place

Legislation passed this week to avert the "fiscal cliff" could still leave in place deficits averaging more than $900 billion a year over the coming decade if Congress fails to follow its tax increases up with further spending cuts or tax hikes, the nonpartisan scorekeeper for Congress said Friday.

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OGE clarifies gift-giving rules as inauguration approaches

With President Barack Obama's second inauguration - along with the flurry of balls, receptions and other related ceremonies - just weeks away, the Office of Government Ethics has issued new guidance to agency ethics officials.

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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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Pipe bomb explodes in Treasury official's mailbox

Officials are investigating an apparent pipe bomb that destroyed a mailbox at the Virginia home of the Treasury Department's inspector general.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 4, 2013

Certified financial planner talks about Thrift Savings Plan numbers for 2012. Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments sheds light on DoD's recent shopping spree. Jim Treat of the Census Bureau discusses the Web-first approach to the American Community Survey. Attorney Sandy Hoe discusses a recent case in which a contractor sued the Air Force. Dr. Gerald Dillingham of the GAO talks about possible changes in leadership at the FAA.

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