Friday federal headlines – February 26, 2016

Defense Secretary Ash Carter lays out DoD's 2017 spending priorities to Congress. Speaking to the House Appropriations Committee, Carter stressed America’s le...

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

  • Defense Secretary Ash Carter lays out DoD’s 2017 spending priorities to Congress. Speaking to the House Appropriations Committee, Carter stressed America’s leading role in worldwide security and the need to invest in people and new technologies. He said President Obama’s 2017 budget plan will help clear a backlog of investments in new capabilities in submarines and cyber warfare. (DoD)
  • The American Federation of Government Employees calls out House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). Union President John O’Grady said he’s concerned about Chaffetz’s request for names of federal employees who work on union business at the Environmental Protection Agency. He cites the recent armed occupation of a National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon as proof that giving out the names of employees at controversial agencies is a bad idea. O’Grady asked Chaffetz to reconsider his approach. (AFGE Local 706)
  • The Navy establishes a 12-week maternity leave policy for sailors and reservists. Last year, the policy was 18 weeks. The longer time off will still apply to those who are pregnant or give birth before March 3. The shorter time is in line with Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s DoD-wide policy. DoD is planning to ask Congress to expand leave for fathers from 10 to 14 days. (Navy)
  • The Government Accountability Office praises NASA for improving its use of project tools such as earned value management. And it’s put in cost and schedule baselines for its space launch, Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs. But auditors said NASA still needs better visibility into long term costs. And they worry whether NASA will apply its new tools to new projects, such as human space flight to Mars.
  • The Homeland Security Department has spent $180 million over the last 13 years to consolidate and modernize human resources systems and has little to show for it. A new Government Accountability Office report highlighted the program’s shortcomings. GAO said DHS completed one of 15 initial upgrades and has no estimated completion date for the other 14. DHS officials assured members of the House Homeland Security Committee they are restructuring the program and will have a new schedule by May. (Federal News Radio)
  • The new agency in charge of the federal security clearance process should reach initial operating capability and have its own leader by October of this year. The Defense Department will start building the IT systems for the National Background Investigations Bureau in 2017. But Congress said it’s not sure the administration will realistically reach those goals. Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Beth Cobert said a team will start discussing in mid-March how it will move the security clearance process from the old agency to the new. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Office of Federal Procurement Policy has finally put its leadership team in place to add some more fuel to its category management initiative. OFPP named 10 new category managers on Feb. 25 to lead the commodity buying areas, representing more than $270 billion in annual federal spending. The 10 managers come mostly from federal agencies, including GSA, DoD and OPM. OFPP Administrator Anne Rung said these managers are conducting spend analysis, market research, financial and supply chain risk analysis, and creating strategic plans specific to their category. Rung said each team will also work toward a shared set of governmentwide metrics and outcomes described in the Cross-Agency Priority goal for Category Management. (Federal News Radio)
  • Trouble brewing for President Barack Obama’s pick for Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee said they’ve received allegations of a hostile work environment under Brad Carson, now the principal deputy undersecretary. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) asked the Committee to hold off on voting on Carson’s nomination. Inhofe said he wants a so-called command climate assessment of Carson’s office before the committee proceeds. Carson, a former member of Congress, said he’s never heard about a hostile work environment under his leadership. (Federal News Radio)

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