Tuesday federal headlines – March 15, 2016

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

• The head of a House committee wants to know what’s happening to people’s information when they open accounts on HealthCare.gov. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued a subpoena to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for documents and information surrounding allegations that the government is collecting personal information regardless of whether someone signs up for coverage or not. Smith wants the Obama administration to be more transparent about what data is collected and stored through the website. (House Science, Space, and Technology Committee)

• The Air Force awarded Pratt and Whitney a sole-source deal to maintain engines on the C-17 transport.  The Defense Inspector General said contracting officials did not gather enough data to know whether the company was offering a fair and reasonable price. And that, the IG added, was because the Air Force didn’t do what’s necessary for a successful performance-based logistics contract. Its main recommendation: Re-do the math. (DoD IG)

• The Senate confirmed Dr. John King as Secretary of Education. He had been serving as acting secretary since January when Arne Duncan stepped down. King was the Education Commissioner in New York from 2011 to 2014. He was appointed as acting Deputy Secretary of Education in January 2015.

• NASA’s networks and data are in serious risk of a cyber attack. A month-long investigation by Federal News Radio found the space agency is missing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of internal software patches. Sources said some of the cyber problems are a result of NASA’s culture that fails to integrate mission and cybersecurity. Sources said another major problem is the vendor hired to manage a major portion of NASA’s network.  A NASA spokeswoman said the agency devotes the necessary resources to ensure the safety and security of the agency’s data and IT systems. (Federal News Radio)

• The architect of the Defense Department’s Force of the Future is stepping down in April. Brad Carson, principal undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness is responsible for a number of DoD’s personnel reforms in the past year. Carson was nominated as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness in July, but hit a roadblock in the Senate. The Senate Armed Services Committee decided not to vote on Carson’s confirmation until whistleblower allegations of a hostile work environment could be investigated. (Federal News Radio)

• The Office of Personnel Management is starting to deploy its new IT infrastructure. But the agency said it needs an additional $37 million in 2017 to start planning and migrating some of its IT systems to what OPM is calling “Shell.” Congress is skeptic of the $37 million price tag. Former OPM Inspector General Patrick McFarland once said the project had a high risk of failing because the agency didn’t have a business plan. (Federal News Radio)

• The General Services Administration’s 18F group releases draft solicitation for a dashboard to help vendors navigate FedRAMP certification FedRAMP is the program for approving cloud computing providers. 18F Acquisition Management Director David Zvenyach said that among the proposed requirements, an hour-long presentation by the bidder, as well as a breakdown of skills of the team eventually awarded the contract. (Federal News Radio)

• Agencies have a few new alternatives for submitting Senior Executive Service applications to the Office of Personnel Management for Review. New guidance from acting OPM Director Beth Cobert said SES candidates can submit a resume, rather than a 10-page summary, to describe their executive skills for the Qualification Review Board. The agency said it hopes these options will save hiring agencies and candidates more time when applying to the SES. Some agencies said they want to get rid of the QRB process because it takes too long. (Federal News Radio)

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