Tuesday federal headlines – June 9, 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.

• Agencies have 19 months to move all public facing websites to a standard called secure HTTPS. Less than a third of federal websites now use the secure version of the hypertext transfer protocol. Federal Chief Information Officer Tony Scott laid out the new requirement in a five-page memo to agency executives. He told them to start with the most sensitive sites first, especially those that deal in personally identifiable information. Scott’s memo is unrelated to the OPM cyber breach. But in a blog post, Scott said HTTPS is only part of the cybersecurity picture. It ensures safe connections between user and site, but doesn’t prevent hacking of databases. The deadline for HTTPS is Dec. 31, 2016. (Federal News Radio)
• The Office of Federal Procurement Policy wants to spread around what it considers success of the Buyers Club at Health and Human Services. OFPP Administrator Anne Rung said she’ll ask the 25 largest agencies to set up their own Buyers Clubs. HHS described its Buyers Club as a way of speeding up acquisition of information technology using fast-track authorities under the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Rung said she’ll be issuing a guidance memo this summer outlining the basic idea behind Buyers Clubs. (Federal News Radio)
• Army Secretary John McHugh will be leaving by Nov. 1. He’s been secretary since September 2009, the first year of the Obama administration. He’s been in discussions with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Deputy Secretary Robert Work for several weeks about his desire to step down. Before being appointed Army Secretary, McHugh was a Republican congressman from New York. He was ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. McHugh was also a member of the U.S. Military Academy Board of Visitors. In announcing his departure, Carter said every soldier is better off because of McHugh’s hard work and vision. ( Federal News Radio)
• Half of the agencies required to have financial audits aren’t following laws on improper payments, according to accounting firm Grant Thonrton. That’s why the government misspent $10 billion more in 2014 than the year before. The biggest offenders are the departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, the Treasury and the Social Security Administration. Inspectors general used to rate agencies on a scale, ranging from complaint to noncompliant. But White House guidance issued in October said complying with improper payments is now pass-fail. (Federal News Radio)
• NASA is partnering with eight universities on new technology projects. The projects are part of the 2016 X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge. University teams design systems and technologies that help with deep space journeys, including Mars exploration. The University of Maryland team is creating inflatable airlock structures, and Utah State University is working on a micro- gravity plant system. NASA said the challenge gives students a chance to get hands-on experience developing technology. The National Space Grant Foundation will administer grants to the teams, ranging from $10,000 to $30,000. (NASA)
• Last week’s revelation of a giant data breach at the Office of Personnel Management has touched off fresh calls for cybersecurity legislation. Bloomberg reports, even President Barack Obama, speaking from the G-7 summit in Germany, called on Congress to renew efforts to get stalled legislation going again. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said he hopes the Senate will act. The House has already passed two cyber bills that encourage information sharing between companies and the federal government. A Senate version is awaiting floor action. There, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the OPM breach is a bad excuse for legislation he said potentially violates privacy. (Bloomberg)
• The Federal Railroad Administration told commuter railroads to put more speed signs up. The recommendation came a month after a speeding Amtrak train derailed, killing eight people. The agency said railroads should look at sharp curves in the track and install signs there. They also should fine tune automatic train control systems. And if automatic train control isn’t available, a crew member familiar with routes and speeds should stand with the engineer. (Federal News Radio)

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