Wednesday federal headlines – March 16, 2016

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

• Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is now the latest official snared in an email controversy. A letter from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) cites reporting by Bloomberg last year. Some 28 senior staff members used personal accounts for government business. Chaffetz asked how the DHS people, including Johnson, got waivers. He’s looking for the names of specific deciders. (House Oversight Committee)

• The Veterans Affairs Department proposed the removal of three senior officials at the Phoenix VA Health Care System. The positions included the facility’s Chief of Staff and Chief of Health Administration. VA Deputy Secretary Sloan said this marks an important step in moving past previous events. The system was at the center of the 2014 wait time scandal in which at least 40 veterans died waiting for care. (Veterans Affairs)

• The Defense Department is rethinking how it acquires space assets. Government Accountability Office auditors said funding constraints and increasing threats to space systems have led DoD to consider alternatives for buying and launching satellites. DoD has turned to options like choosing smaller satellites and relying on commercial ones by buying capacity instead of developing government owned networks. (GAO)

• The Senate unanimously passed a bill to expand public access to government records. The bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)  updates the Freedom of Information Act. It would require federal agencies to make electronic versions of disclosable records and documents and create a Chief FOIA Officers Council to develop ideas to increase efficiency and compliance. Differences between the House and Senate’s versions need to be worked out before it heads to President Barack Obama’s desk. (Congress)

• The agency that helps to shape federal rules is failing to hold itself to the same standards of transparency. That’s according to both the Government Accountability Office and House Oversight Committee members. They found the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is overworked, understaffed and working in the shadows. OIRA administrator Howard Shelanski defended the agency during a congressional hearing. He said his office has adopted several of the GAO’s transparency recommendations. (Federal News Radio)

• The Veterans Affairs Department asks Congress to include senior executive accountability in an omnibus package of veterans legislation. A proposal from VA Secretary Bob McDonald would change pay and discipline procedures for the department’s medical center directors and other health care executives. Other VA SESers would stay as Title 5 employees. The Merit Systems Protection Board itself would decide VA disciplinary cases, instead of MSPB judges. Senate VA Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said the goal is finish work on the omnibus by April 1. (Federal News Radio)

• A top Army official says the Army is preparing to cut 14,000 soldiers to meet its force goals for 2018. Vice Chief of Staff for the Army Daniel Allyn said 10,000 of those to be cut will be officers. The Army has planned since 2014 to cut its force to 980,000 by 2018. Allyn said in the last round of layoffs, 50 percent of those involuntarily separated from the Army had served in at least two combat deployments. (Federal News Radio)

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