Monday morning federal headlines – Aug. 20, 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. T...

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.

  • The highest ranking woman in U.S. law enforcement is stepping down to start a consulting company. Janice J. Fedarcyk has been special agent in charge of the FBI’s New York office for two years. She’s been with the FBI for 25 years. Fedarcyk has overseen major insider trading, wire fraud and counterterrorism cases. She led an international team that in March arrested one of the world’s most wanted computer hackers, a member of the hacking group Anonymous. Her office arrested a leader of the Somalia terror group al-Shabaab. Fedarcyk’s last day at the FBII will be Thursday. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Office of Management and Budget is calling for a 10 percent reduction in information technology spending for fiscal 2014. That would take it down to 2006 levels. In guidance issued Friday, the White House said reductions should come from infrastructure, commodity products and business systems. OMB reiterated its emphasis on cloud computing, shared services and customer service improvement. More than talk, OMB told agencies to send in detailed reports on what they’ll cut. (Federal News Radio)
  • Two federal employees are serving suspensions for violating the Hatch Act’s prohibitions on politicking while on duty. A technology specialist at the Social Security Administration has agreed to take six months’ unpaid leave. His crime? He hosted a fundraiser and coordinated volunteers for local campaigns while at work. A second fed, a contracting officer at the General Services Administration, is serving a 30-day suspension without pay for inviting people to a fundraiser for President Obama. She sent invitations and distributed campaign material at work using her government email account. (Federal News Radio)
  • They held a hearing, but no one showed up. House Republicans traveled to Los Angeles to stage a hearing designed to pressure the General Services Administration into selling excess federal property, GovExec reported. Their backdrop was the Edward R. Roybal Courthouse, one of two in the area. GSA wants to build a third and retire the oldest one. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) complained that several witnesses did not appear. One of the no-shows was GSA’s acting administrator, Dan Tangherlini. (GovExec)
  • A former Border Patrol union boss has come back swinging against charges he misused funds.Terence “TJ” Bonner has been indicted for allegedly siphoning off hundreds of thousands of dollars from the National Border Patrol Council for personal use. Bonner called the investigation and charges against him an “ineffectual wild goose chase.” He said he was being unfairly targeted for his strong opinions on border security. Bonner is accused of seeking reimbursement for trips with his mistress and claiming telework hours while he was downloading pornography at home. (Federal News Radio)

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