Thursday federal headlines – April 14, 2016

House members continue their oversight of how agencies implement recommendations from their inspectors general.

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

  • House members continue their oversight of how agencies implement recommendations from their inspectors general. Chair and ranking member of the House Oversight committee Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) asked 73 agency IG’s seven questions to better understand how agencies follow their advice. Among the questions, the number of open recommendations at each agency and how many people referred IGs referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal investigation. Answers are due back to the committee by April 20. (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
  • A group of senators want to know what the General Services Administration is doing to improve its data on federal real property. The senators sent a letter to GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth. The Government Accountability Office said GSA made progress in making real property data more reliable, but the information doesn’t paint an accurate picture of the challenges agencies still have with real property. (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee)
  • The Government Accountability Office found nearly 100 new actions it says the government can take to improve spending. Among them, it said the Defense Department should give away its excess ammunition to federal, state and local agencies to cut down disposal costs, the IRS needs to improve external communication, and eligibility for Medicaid needs to be improved to cut down on improper payments. (GAO)
  • President Barack Obama has named 12 individuals who will be part of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. The commission is par the of the White House’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan announced back in February. It will have its first meeting later today, and deliver final recommendations by December. Its purpose is to help industry and government collaborate better with representatives from IBM and Facebook, as well as former director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Keith Alexander. (White House)
  • The Veterans Affairs Department is exploring how a cloud broker approach would work. Earlier this month, VA issued a request for information to vendors asking for insights into managing enterprise cloud services. VA wants feedback about how a vendor would oversee a portfolio of cloud service providers that would give the agency flexibility in delivering these technologies. VA said it’s striving for a consistent approach to reviewing, securing, managing and procuring cloud services to ensure coordination and integration between vendors. Responses to the RFI are due April 18. (FBO)
  • The National Park Service, D.C. and Virginia miss yesterday’s deadline to apply for a Transportation Department grant to fix the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The 84-year old bridge needs total reconstruction at a price tag of $250 million. Otherwise it will close in five years. DoT’s Fastlane program has $800 million for 2016. WTOP reports the Park Service said will submit its application anyway. (Federal Highway Administration)
  • Federal Chief Information Officer Tony Scott said he’s optimistic about the administration’s talks with Congress on a $3.1 billion IT modernization fund. Scott said the budget and appropriations process meant Congress threw “easy money” at agencies to pay for outdated legacy IT systems. The Office of Management and Budget wants to set up a revolving fund that would help agencies update and modernize old systems. Scott said he’s asking agencies to identify the systems that need the most attention with or without help from Congress. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Navy finds that Congress is more open to its green initiatives.  Assistant Navy Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment Dennis McGinn said Congress has been less heated about the issue of energy this year. McGinn said the Navy needs to transfer to alternative fuel types to stay competitive in the future. He the Navy has been working with industry on creating green technologies and transitioning Navy airplanes to biofuel. (Federal News Radio)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Related Stories