Federal Drive

Tuesday Morning Federal Newscast

Written by Ruben Gomez and Jane Norris Edited by Andrew Mitchell This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: President Obama is standing firm on his int...

Federal News Network Staff

September 1, 2009 9:04 am

3 min read

Written by Ruben Gomez and Jane Norris
Edited by Andrew Mitchell

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

President Obama is standing firm on his intention to keep federal pay raises down next year. The President has sent Congress a letter vowing to allow nothing more than a two-percent General Schedule increase. The Senate approved a 2.9-percent raise, but Mr. Obama says he has the power to set pay limits during times of emergency.

Homeland Security turns to bloggers for help with its Quadrennial Review. The department wants their help to spread news about an online feedback session. DHS wants the public to rank the agency’s priorities for the future. They’re taking input thru September 6. (Max Cacas has a full report on federalnewsradio.com).

More of you are saving money on energy – on average, more than $500,000 per year. About half of the federal IT managers responding to a CDW survey have slashed costs for running computers and other devices. Part of that is because of virtualization and switching to LCD screens. In last year’s survey, just 34 percent said they were saving money.

The government paves the way for a memorial to the victims of Flight 93. The National Park Service has finally signed a deal to purchase the land in Western Pennsylvania where United Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001. Passengers aboard that flight struggled with hijackers and prevented the plane from reaching Washington. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says his agency will pay about $9.5 million for a plot of land near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The site will now become a memorial to the heroes of Flight 93 by September 11, 2011.

A committee investigating pilot fatigue is making recommendations to the FAA today. Rules on how many hours an airline pilot may fly or be on duty before rest have not changed for nearly a half-century. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt is promising to turn the recommendations into a proposal that would be ready for review in a few months. The investigation of the crash of a Continental Connection flight near Buffalo, N.Y. has spotlighted the long hours, low pay and long-distance commutes of regional airline pilots.

Meanwhile, the FAA will need to wait until next week for tips on moving air traffic control from radars to satellites. The advisory group working on those recommendations has delayed its report on the NextGen modernization project. The new release date is September 9, and we’ll speak with the task force live the following morning.

Fruit could soon be tattooed. New technology being tested by the Agricultural Research service of the USDA shows promise. The new technology puts a tattoo on grapefruit and other produce so it can be identified at the supermarket checkout lines. Labels which are currently used are easily removed, making it more difficult to track a piece of produce back to the source if the need arises. The process would have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for safety before it could be used commercially.

Credit card companies have just a few months left to sign up college students to a credit card agreements. Federal Regulations kick in just five months from now that restrict aggressive marketing. Starting in February 2010, credit card companies will be prohibited from providing gifts on campus in exchange for filling out a credit card application and colleges will be required to disclose any marketing contracts they have with card issuers. Credit card companies won’t be allowed to issue credit cards to people under 21, unless applicants have an older co-signer or can demonstrate their ability to repay card debt.

More news links

Civilian agency contract spending continues to climb (NextGov.com)

Applications for broadband grants under the stimulus law far outstrip available funds (fcw.com)

VA’s Suicide Prevention Program Adds Chat Service (press release)

From Migrant Worker to Astronaut (AllGov.com)