Monday federal headlines – March 21, 2016

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

• Office of Personnel Management acting Director Beth Cobert has a Senate supporter in her bid to get the permanent job. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is calling for Cobert’s confirmation. From the House, Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voicing their support for Cobert. Carper also urged the Senate to move on the nomination of Michael Missal for the Veterans Affairs inspector general. VA has been without a  confirmed IG for more than two years.

• President Barack Obama nominated the first woman to a U.S. combatant command. He named Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson to lead U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. The promotion requires Senate approval. Robinson is commander of Pacific Air Forces. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called her a pioneer and trailblazer. (Defense Department)

• Members of the Senate Health Committee introduced the FDA and NIH Workforce Authorities Modernization Act. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced the legislation. The bill looks to help the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Health recruit and retain top talent in the scientific community. It would help the FDA compete with the private sector and ease regulatory burdens for research at both agencies. (Sen. Lamar Alexander)

• Airbus reached an agreement with financial holdings company KKR to sell its Defense Electronics business. The company sells sensors, systems and related services. The $1.7 billion deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. It’s part of the European aircraft giant’s effort to scale back its space and defense business to focus on missiles and satellites. (Air Bus)

• An Air Force three-star general lost his job over something he could have controlled. It’s the assistant vice chief of staff, Lt. Gen. John Hesterman. Reuters reports he had an extra-marital affair several years ago as a two-star — with a female lieutenant colonel. An inspector general investigation found email evidence. At the time, Hesterman ran the Air Force part of Central Command. Hesterman quit and put in a request for retirement. The Air Force mulls discipline for the lieutenant colonel. (Reuters)

• The Office of Personnel Management is embarking on its training tours. It wants to educate HR and hiring managers at agency field offices about the flexibilities they have to hire new people quickly. OPM said government HR staffs don’t have enough time to fully learn about the General Schedule and other classifications, so they have to learn on the job. The Government Accountability Office put the skills gap in human capital management on its high risk list. (Federal News Radio)

• Congress questioned a Homeland Security Department agency about whether it reassigns people as punishment.  Ironically, a memo from the Transportation Security Administration’s HR department halting relocations sparked the inquiry. Members of the House Oversight committee want to know if TSA had been reassigning people involuntarily as retaliation. The memo tells local managers to stop involuntary relocations until they’re approved by TSA’s Human Capital Office. A letter to Administrator Peter Neffenger asking for more information has bipartisan signatures. (Federal News Radio)

• The Defense Department is considering changes to its combatant command and Joint Chiefs of Staff structures. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the regional combatant command structure was developed before the need for regions and functions needed to work more closely together. But he said more integration was needed now because many conflicts cover multiple geographic areas. Carter said he wants to strengthen the Joint Chiefs by making them aggregators of regional information, but not add them to the operational chain of command. (Federal News Radio)

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