Friday federal headlines – June 5, 2015

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows each day. Our headlines are updated twice per day — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — with the latest news affecting federal employees and contractors.

• Four million feds and retirees will start finding out Monday if their personal information was stolen in a cyber attack. The Office of Personnel Management said it will send email notifications between June and June 19. Those emails will offer individuals free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. OPM is working with U.S. CERT and the FBI to learn more about the attack, which happened back in April. An anonymous government official said the breach could potentially affect every federal agency. (Federal News Radio )
• Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser has retired from government under pressure from Congress. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) has been investigating Zinser for alleged misconduct for the past three years. Johnson this week said a Commerce OIG employee was placed on administrative leave because she’s believed to be a whistleblower. Johnson said Zinser failed to investigate an allegation that National Weather Service employees were running an illegal accounting scam. Several good-government groups have also urged President Obama to remove Zinser. Obama nominates Mary Kendall to be the Inspector General of the Interior Department. Kendall has been the deputy IG since 1999. The top job has been vacant for more than six years. (Federal News Radio)
• The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center suspends operations of its Pharmaceutical Development Section in Bethesda. The move follows an inspection of the facility by the Food and Drug Administration. The investigation was prompted by a whistleblower. Inspectors found a series of operating and handling deficiencies. In one instance, vials of albumin used to deliver experimental drugs to patients were found to be contaminated with fungus. Internal investigators will be aided by an external group of microbiology and sterile manufacturing experts. NIH director Doctor Francis Collins promised what he called an interim corrective action plan by June 19.
  (NIH )
• A Senate panel approved a permanent head for the Transportation Security Administration. Peter Neffenger is vice commandant at the Coast Guard. President Obama nominated him for TSA administrator in April. Neffenger’s approval by the Senate Commerce Committee comes days after acting administrator Michael Carraway was reassigned to a new role. That follows a report finding undercover agents could get prohibited items through TSA checkpoints in 95 percent of their trials. The Senate Homeland Security Committee has 30 days to also weigh in. After that, Neffenger’s nomination goes to the full Senate floor. (Politico)
• The president of a federal employee group asks, where’s phased retirement? Richard Thissen, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, wrote to Office of Personnel Management director Katherine Archuleta. He said NARFE members often contact the office, asking when phased retirement will be available at their agency. Congress passed legislation authorizing phased retirement three years ago and OPM put out guidance last year. But so far, the Library of Congress is the only agency known to be offering phased retirement. (Federal News Radio/Breaking Defense)
• The Army said it’s pushing back the hearing for former captive Bowe Bergdahl. The sergeant left his post in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban for five years. He was released in a prisoner exchange. Bergdahl’s hearing was scheduled for July 8, but now it will take place on September 17. Bergdahl is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. (Federal News Radio)
• A grandson of the most famous bomber pilot of World War II is taking over leadership of the Air Force’s B-2 stealth bomber fleet. Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets IV assumes command today of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. His grandfather, Col. Paul Tibbets Jr., piloted the Enola Gay, the B- 29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. He died in 2007. The younger Tibbets was deputy director for nuclear operations for the U.S. Strategic Command at Offuc Air Force Base, Nebraska. He holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit. At the 509, he succeeds Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck. The Air Force maintains a fleet of 20 B-2 bombers. During World War II, nearly four thousand B-29s were built and delivered. (Federal News Radio )

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.