Monday Morning Federal Newscast – March 7th

SSA IG: contract security guards lacking GAO makes another union move Multiple \'unknowns\' to be buried in Arlington

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Amy Morris 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.

  • Senate Majority leader Harry Reid is aiming for a Tuesday test vote on a House-passed spending bill with $61 billion in cuts. Also test voted will be a Democratic-proposed measure with $6.5 billion in cuts. Democrats expect both proposals to fail, but hope it will push both side towards a compromise. Vice President Joe Biden has been meeting with congressional leaders to work out a budget deal. So far though, GOP leaders have said the White House proposals are not enough. Lawmakers have until March 18th to hash out a spending bill, before the current CR expires.
  • The Senate Appropriations committee is proposing a spending bill that would fund just the Defense Department through the end of the fiscal year. But the bill comes up short of what Defense Secretary Robert Gates says is needed. DefenseNews reports, the Senate bill provide $672 billion for the remainder of the year. That’s $17 billion less than the president’s request for defense spending in 2011. The base budget is also $26 billion less that what Secretary Gates says is necessary for the Pentagon to operate.
  • Private security guards hired by the Social Security Administration to protect its facilities spent their shifts watching television, on the phone and missing patrols, according to a report released in early March by the agency’s inspector general. GovExec reports the IG also found weapons and ammunition have gone “temporarily missing”. If contractor Paragon Systems performance doesn’t improve, the IG recommended “corrective action” for the $242 million contract, including re-competition. Paragon has provided security for SSA buildings in Maryland since March 2008.
  • Some workers at the Government Accountability Office are taking the first steps toward forming a union. FederalTimes reports accountants, librarians, IT specialists and other professional support staffers have filed requests for a union election. If they succeed, it would be the second group of GAO employees to organize a union. About 2,000 analysts and specialists at GAO voted to unionize in 2007 after anger grew over the agency’s new pay system. The staffers say they hope to hold the vote soon.
  • Lawmakers are proposing improvements to intern hiring process. Virginia congressman Gerry Connolly introduced a bill that would require agencies to increase the number of interns that become full-time employees, GovExec reports the bill would create a reporting requirement for OPM to evaluate intern programs based on conversion rates and exit interviews. It would also establish a central clearinghouse so that agencies can recruit qualified candidates who have interned for other agencies.
  • GSA is looking to provide some elbow room for four different agencies. The General Services Administration has issued a request for expressions of interest for 255,000 square feet near the White House. The Washington Business Journal reports the State Department, the Executive Office of the President, Justice and Veterans Affairs currently take up more than 250,000 square feet of space on G Street in Northwest. And those leases expire in Fiscal Year 2011. The feds have to decide whether to stay or relocate to the new space under a 15-year lease. Expressions of interest are due March 15th. Formal offers are due May first. CityBizList reported the opportunity, which was posted on FedBizOpps.
  • For the first time in decades, Arlington National Cemetary has multiple “unknowns” to bury. The Washington Post reports criminal investigators looking into how eight sets of cremated remains ended up in a single grave have concluded that three of them are unidentifiable. Kathryn Condon, the recently appointed director of the Army Cemeteries Program, tells the Post she’s set up new procedures so no new mix-ups will occur.

More news links

Project in works to combat distracted teen driving

Discovery leaving space station for the last time

US Marshals end fugitive surrender program

Gates: US should stay involved in Afghanistan

Lava spews 65 feet high after crater collapse

NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life (DigitalTrends)

FBI, Secret Service duke it out on the ice (CNN)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.