Tuesday federal headlines – December 22, 2015

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive.

• Beth Moten, legislative and political director for the American Federation of Government Employees is retiring after 31 years with the organization. In a statement, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)  said she has been a champion for federal civilian employees and a critical resource for ensuring the best possible civilian federal workforce. (Democratic Whip)

• A new report finds the Senior Executive Service is no longer accomplishing its originally intended purpose. The report, authored by the Merit Systems Protection Board, said lack of time and funding have been persistent barriers to employee development. The board recommends leadership at each federal entity to support training and hold senior executives accountable for developing their employees. (MSPB)

• The Department of Defense wants to ban the sale or rental of sexually explicit material on its grounds. A proposed rule calls for restrictions on the sale and or rental of such items by service members or DoD civilian employees on property under the department’s jurisdiction. It also would require the establishment of a Resale Activities Review Board to review material offered and make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense. (Federal Register)

• The Army will be reviewing proposed uniform changes next year. Army Times reports the possible changes include eliminating the female drill sergeant hat, and requiring senior non-commissioned officers and higher to wear the blue service cap, instead of the beret, while in the Army Service Uniform. These changes came from a soldier survey commissioned by Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey this past summer. (Army Times)

• The Office of Management and Budget is trying once again to tame how agencies buy and manage software. OMB is releasing draft guidance for comment. The administration is creating a new Enterprise Software Category Team to develop governmentwide software license agreements that will be mandatory for agencies to use. OMB also will encourage or direct the use of best-in-class existing software licensing agreements. This is the third attempt in the last decade by OMB to better manage how agencies buy computer software. (CIO.gov)

• Defense Secretary Ash Carter wrote a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus scolding him for his spending priorities in the fiscal 2017 budget. Carter said the Navy overemphasized resources to incrementally increase total ship numbers at the expense of critically-needed investments. Carter directed the Navy to cut 12 Littoral Combat Ships from its budget and instead invest in naval aviation and undersea capabilities. (Federal News Radio)

• Agencies have new guidelines for keeping track of their cyber workforce. Congress passed the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act. It’s one of several cyber related provisions included in the 2016 omnibus spending bill. Agency leaders will have to have to assign each cyber or cyber-related position with a specific job code and report their progress to the Office of Personnel Management. (Federal News Radio)

• Congress blew the roof off spending in its 2016 appopriations. But analysis by Bloomberg Government shows real spending on prime contracts will actually fall over the next few years. The dollar volumes will go up by 6.6 percent between now and 2020 thanks to plus-ups for the Defense Department, but inflation will more than offset those gains. The result: A 3.3 percent drop in inflation adjusted contracting dollars.

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