Tuesday morning federal headlines – July 17, 2012

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.

• Automatic cuts in federal spending will cost the economy more than 2 million jobs. That’s according to a study commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association. It found job losses would occur in many industries, principally from defense contracting, border security and education. The study was conducted by Stephen Fuller of George Mason University and Chmura Economics and Analytics. AIA members stand to lose big if the sequestration budget cuts occur as scheduled on Jan. 3. (Federal News Radio)
• The Chief Human Capital Officers Council is going academic. It wants federal employees to get college credit for government-developed HR courses. Katheryn Medina, the council’s executive director, said the group wants to professionalize the HR workforce using HR University. The online University of Maryland University College and the for-profit Strayer University have both approached the council to talk about using its courses. (Federal News Radio)
• The Agriculture Department has granted a six-month reprieve to a program that tests fruits and vegetables for dangerous bacteria. Neither the Department nor Congress wanted to keep funding the Microbiological Data Program. USDA had argued that the Food and Drug Administration should take it over and pay for it. The microbiological data program is small and cost just over $4 million last year. But it’s the nation’s largest produce-testing program. Each year, it screens thousands of fruits and vegetables for bacteria like e-coli and salmonella. USDA said it would keep operating through December, but it said the program doesn’t align with the department’s core mission. (Federal News Radio)
• The General Services Administration is still stinging from revelations about an expensive 2010 conference and has pulled the plug on another conference. It canceled support for GovEnergy 2012, and now the event is indefinitely postponed. It was to have taken place in August in St. Louis. Dan Nolan, a blogger for Defense energy issues, first reported the cancellation. Nolan contacted his DoD sources, who expressed disappointment. The conference website lists several dozen advisors from government and industry. (Smart Grid Security Blog)
• Three out of 10 foreign-service jobs are either vacant or filled by junior staff. The Government Accountability Office said the State Department has the same staff shortage it did four years ago. That was before the department launched a recruitment program. GAO said the “Diplomacy 3.0” program increased hiring by about 17 percent. But the new recruits cannot fill most of the gaps because they are at mid-career levels. GAO said fiscal constraints would slow hiring. The department is relying more and more on civil-service workers and retirees. (GAO)
• Commuters sick of congestion on U.S. Route 1 near Fort Belvoir are about to get some relief. The Defense and Transportation departments will devote $180 million to widening a 3-1/2 mile stretch of Route 1. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the project would improve quality of life in the Fort Belvoir area of Fairfax County. Route 1 will go from four lanes to six between Telegraph Road and Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. The stretch will include new bike lanes, sidewalks and drainage. The project will improve access to Fort Belvoir at the Tully and Pence Gates, which serve the new community hospital. Groundbreaking is awaiting environmental approval. (DoD)
• Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will break a world record this morning when her plane touches down at Andrews Air Force Base. It will end a 13-day epic journey. In less that two weeks, Clinton flew 27,000 miles. That’s 2,000 miles more than the circumference of the Earth. She visited Europe, Asia and the Middle East. One Clinton staffer told the Associated Press: the itinerary was “especially absurd … even for us.” Some have wondered if the miles were catching up to Clinton when she suffered a coughing fit in Hanoi last week. Clinton has visited 102 countries since becoming secretary of state. (Federal News Radio)
• The Agriculture Department has cancelled a soap-opera-style ad campaign that let Spanish speakers know about food stamps. The radio dramas followed characters as they considered applying for the food-assistance program. The “novelas” came under fire from conservatives. The Daily Caller noted USDA was not making comparable soap operas in English. USDA told the conservative website: it removed the ads because they were 4-years old and did not meet the department’s standards for outreach. It said its ad campaigns target communities at greatest risk of hunger. (Federal News Radio)

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