Tuesday federal headlines – March 29, 2016

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

• The Homeland Security Department should reevaluate its policy on administrative leave, according to the Government Accountability Office. DHS put out the policy last year. 116 employees at the department were on administrative leave for a year or longer between fiscal 2011 and 2013 — 14 of those employees were still on leave as of the end of the fiscal 2015. GAO also suggested DHS work with its component agencies to develop a consistent administrative leave policy. (GAO)

• The Transportation Department wants to create a National Transit Map to get a sense of transportation issues across the country. DoT will use open transit data collected from local and state transit agencies to find gaps in public transportation. Secretary Anthony Foxx sent a letter to several transit agencies asking them to share their General Transit Feed Specification data on a periodic basis. (Department of Transportation)

• The Veterans Affairs Department awarded over $750,000 to developers of new technologies to help veterans adjust to living in specially adapted homes. The Specially Adapted Housing Assistive Technology Grants is looking to design assistive technologies to expand home modification options for veterans who apply for VA’s Specially Adapted Housing benefit. The SAH benefit helps vets with service-connected disabilities buy or modify a house. (Veterans Affairs)

• The F-35 continues to have mechanical and software troubles. Its program manager, Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, told a House Armed Services subcommittee the plane is getting better and less expensive. But he acknowledged it has an image problem. One answer: showing it off at air shows. The Air Force is planning demonstrations at 16 upcoming shows. (Air Force)

• The Federal Managers Association named Sue Thatch as its manager of the year. She’s a supervisor in the Fleet Readiness Center at the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, North Carolina. Thatch received high marks as a motivator and someone who takes action when problems arise. She thought of the idea that led to the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act. (Federal Managers Association)

• The Defense Department is preparing to switch over to a new personnel management system in April. The system will make performance reviews more frequent and tie promotions and bonuses to employee performance. Employees will be rated on a three-tier scale. Supervisors and employees are required to meet at least three times a year. DoD executives said they hoped the constant updates will keep employees on-track and motivated. (Federal News Radio)

• The State Department made some poor investments in information technology. An audit conducted by the firm Kearney & Company on behalf of the Office of Inspector General made 30 recommendations to fix State’s process for selecting, approving and reporting information on IT investments. The State Department spent approximately $1.4 billion on IT acquisitions in 2014.

• Hundreds of federal employees said their agencies provided them with at least some information on changes in commuter benefits. But in an exclusive Federal News Radio survey, answers varied widely when it came to when and what their agency said, and whether employees would receive the benefits now. Congress raised the monthly benefit to $255, retroactive to 2015.

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