Friday Morning Federal Newscast – April 23rd

TRICARE considers first fee hike in 15 years, Contractor deaths double in Afghanistan, Treasury harnesses the wind

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear ethics rules were violated by senior SEC staffers who used official computers to surf for porn, sometimes for hours. The SEC’s inspector general says 31 of 33 probes occurred during the economic meltdown, and involved staffers being paid to police the financial system. One employee allegedly spent up to 8 hours a day on porn, filling up his computer’s hard drive.

  • We’ll never know what former Special Counsel Scott Bloch had on his computer after that famous call to Geeks on Call. As a result, federal investigators have charged the former protector of government whistleblowers with contempt of Congress. A federal court filing Thursday accuses Bloch of withholding information from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. During his time in the Bush administration, the panel asked Bloch to provide details on the destruction of data on his office computers. But, court papers say Bloch failed to provide a complete explanation.
  • Military health care spending is rising twice as fast as the nation’s overall health care costs. USA Today reports that the surging costs are prompting the Pentagon and Congress to consider the first hike in out-of-pocket fees for military retirees and some active-duty families in 15 years. Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of TRICARE, the military health care program says the rapid rise has been driven by a surge in mental health and physical problems for troops who have deployed to war zones multiple times and by a flood of career military retirees fleeing less-generous civilian health programs. Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress, the increase is “beginning to eat us alive.”
  • Defense contractors may need to change their ways before bidding on projects. A proposed rule published in Thursday’s Federal Register would require the disclosure of organizational conflicts of interest. The rule would apply to all defense contractors and mandate that they disclose conflicts both prior to bidding and as the contract is underway. The proposal is designed to help contracting officers find out if a potential bidder has an unfair advantage over competitors. It would amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation.
  • Government contractor deaths in Afghanistan have more than doubled in the last year. At least 140 insurance claims were filed with the labor department. That is up from 55 in 2008. The Labor Department collects the claims figures as part of a workers’ compensation program. The spike in the death toll comes as tens of thousands more contractors are moving into Afghanistan while insurgent violence is on the rise. Despite the increase in deaths, Afghanistan is still safer for contractors than Iraq. Last year nearly 150 contractors died in Iraq.
  • Bringing more electricity to Afghanistan’s second largest city is leading to a standoff between U.S. military leaders and senior diplomats. Military leaders want to spend $200 million dollars to buy more generators and fuel for Kandahar. They say they need quick results if they want to draw down troops by next summer. But diplomats tell the Washington Post the Afghan government can’t afford to sustain the generators. A U.S. military official says it’s not about development, it’s about counterinsurgency.
  • The Army and Air Force are seeking funds in the fiscal 2011 budget to do some major renovations. Leaders from both services are asking for billions of dollars to expand training facilities, build new housing and relocate tens of thousands of service members and civilian employees. Federal Times reports the Army’s military construction request is down this year.
  • Imagine a warhead so fast and accurate it could be launched from the US and reach Osama bin Laden in a remote cave in less than an hour. President Obama is weighing whether to move ahead with the technology. The Prompt Global Strike warhead would be mounted on a missile, traveling through the atmosphere at several times the speed of sound. The New York Times reports it would reduce our reliance on our nuclear arsenal, but Russia is concerned it could increase the risk of nuclear war. The Pentagon hopes to deploy an early version by 2014.
  • The Senate Budget Committee has passed a measure to slice $44 billion unspent dollars from TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, reports GovExec. The amendment was offered by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who says the money could be used elsewhere. It passed by a narrow margin — 12 to 11.
  • GSA has finalized plans to acquire on-demand computing infrastructure services for federal agencies. Over the next couple of weeks GSA is seeking proposals for delivering three types of infrastructure services over the internet. The first is for delivering on-demand cloud storage services. The second is delivering virtual machines on demand capable of running Windows, Linux and other operating systems. FCW reports the third would provide Web hosting bundles.The proposals need to also satisfy expected bandwidth demands.
  • The Treasury Department is moving to 100-percent wind power at its main building and annex in downtown Washington. To make that happen, the department will purchase Renewable Energy Certificates. The certificates finance renewable power generation with the ultimate goal of reducing the need for fossil fuels. Treasury expects to offset the additional cost of the certificates with other measures they’re taking to save energy and water.

  • More news links

    Obama pledges federal help on Gulf disaster

    White House staff brings kids to work

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