The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear accepting comments until June 18th. OPM is expected to make a decision later this summer.
A drafting error in the new health care overhaul legislation may have inadvertently left members of Congress and their staff without health insurance. The legislation left unclear the date by which lawmakers and certain staff members will be required to drop their existing insurance and sign up for the state run exchanges. These are the exchanges that the law will create for people who lack coverage through their jobs. But since those changes don’t take effect until 2014, there was a possibility that lawmakers would be booted from their existing insurance, the FEHBP, without another alternative. But the Washington Post reports Office of Personnel management tells Congress that the law forcing them into exchanges doesn’t take effect until the exchanges become operational and no one will loose their coverage.
Two nominees to the Thrift Savings Plan board want to encourage young federal employees and members of the military to save for retirement. They say young federal workers need to be educated about the benefits of early savings participation.” Dana Bilyeu, one of President Obama’s picks to join the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, said that expanding that outreach effort is especially important for young military service members. FederalTimes reports she says that one of her first actions, if confirmed, would be to review the board’s financial literacy education efforts. Michael Kennedy, the other nominee, said the board has made good progress in adding more interactive tools to its Web site.
The percentage of Hispanic federal employees stayed flat last year. And the number of new Hispanic hires dropped by seven percent, according to a new report on Hispanic employment in the federal government. Latinos account for 8 percent of the federal workforce which is five points lower than in the private sector. The Treasury and Veterans Affairs Department account for two-thirds of the new Hispanic hires. The Office of Personnel Management has established three offices to recruit and retain more Hispanic workers.
The Small Business Administration could move its internal acquisition arm out of Washington. Government Executive reports SBA is considering relocating those functions to its Denver, Colorado Finance Center. That office focuses on financial management plus administrative and programmatic accounting. It also does financial reporting. SBA administrator Karen Mills says they’re considering the change as part of a reorganization of purchasing operations.
The White House calls on agencies to rethink how they share information with the public and private sectors. OMB is asking them to consider using a standard configuration developed by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. It’s called the National Information Exchange Model. And NextGov reports that OMB issued guidance more than a month ago, but did not post it online.
The Transportation Department’s inspector general says new computers designed to upgrade America’s air traffic control system are having troubles. Among other problems, the En Route Automation Modernization computers have misidentified aircraft during tests. He says the $2.1 billion dollar system may not be ready as planned the end of this year. While not specifically part of the NextGen program, it is considered a critical underpinning.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has suspended two out of three, or 188, IT Projects from spending. CIO Roger Baker says most of them are being re-evaluated or canceled. This is the second round of IT program suspensions, under a new program accountability system. Last July, VA suspended 45 projects. Federal Times reports the program cuts could save the department $54-million dollars.
When you think of Earth day and the environment, what agencies come to mind? You might want to consider the Pentagon. A new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts singles out the Defense Department for ambitious plans to cut energy use and pollutants. Pew researchers call DOD a catalyst for developing cleaner energy sources. DOD has moved forward on plans to fuel planes with alternative fuels and to power bases with renewable energy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has identified energy as one of the department’s top 25 transformational priorities.
More news links
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Army vet gets jail sentence for VA hospital threat
Government goes high-tech to redesign $100 bills
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