• The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive.
  
•  President Obama has announced some major developments in the United States’ relationship with Vietnam. Along with announcing a lift on the ban of lethal arms to Vietnam, the President also announced the Peace Corps will be able to establish operations there as well. Volunteer members will focus on teaching English to students, and training Vietnamese colleagues to teach English. (ABC News)

• A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been indicted on drug distribution charges. Daniel Polanco, who had worked for Customs and Border Protection for nine years, surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service after being charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He was put on leave without pay from his assignment at the Falfurrias checkpoint in Texas.  (CPB.gov)

• A prominent local representative said he wants President Barack Obama to let federal employees work from home more while major repairs are being done to the DC Metrorail system. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said it’s imperative the Office of Personnel Management push to expand telework opportunities. The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced its massive, holistic plan to address safety concerns known as SafeTrack last week.  (Rep.  Gerry Connolly)

• Twelve federal associations have spoken out against some provisions of the Senate’s Veterans First Act. The bill would change the way the Veterans Administration Secretary appoints, appraises, pays and disciplines senior executives at the department. Other VA employees would see different procedures for appealing punishments. The federal associations said some provisions open the door to abuse and misuse from V-A political appointees. The bill cleared the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. (Federal Time)

• The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) said it wants to cut it half how long it takes cloud computing vendors to get approval. It now takes six months to a year. The so-called FedRAMP Accelerated program will use what General Services Administration (G-S-A) officials call a readiness assessment process to identify and solve approval questions earlier. The FedRAMP team said it wants to cut vendor approval wait times for the cloud cybersecurity effort by more than half using a readiness assessment process. FedRAMP Accelerated aims to cut the current 6-12 month authorization time frame in half. The program will attempt to identify problems and find answers for them earlier in the process. (Federal News Radio)

• The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) said it is moving more and more from an acquisitions-based institution to one that is operational-based. DISA Executive Deputy Director Tony Montemarano said it’s because industry is doing a better job at providing technology solutions for the agency. Montemarano said DISA is more concerned with cybersecurity. (Federal News Radio)

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