Tuesday federal headlines – April 5, 2016

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

• No one knows who’s in charge of helping Defense agencies get through cyber incidents. Government Accountability Office auditors found DoD policy does not clearly define its roles and responsibilities. It found conflicting policy on what command would support civil authorities during a cyber incident. Some DoD officials told GAO that U.S. Northern Command would take the helm, while others think it’s Cyber Command. (GAO)

• A new report from the Defense Department’s Inspector General said DoD officials failed to process data properly or issue ethics letters for senior defense officials seeking post-government work with contractors. This means it’s not possible to find out if former DoD officials worked on the same programs for contractors as they did when working for the department. It found the system for collecting the needed materials was unreliable and recommended its use be required. (DoD IG)

• The Office of Personnel Management has reminded agencies that federal management organizations have a seat at the table in discussions on agency personnel and operations. A memo from acting OPM Director Beth Cobert said agency supervisors are obligated to work with associations that represent their federal employees and managers. She said these organizations should keep agency management included in their discussions and decisions, even if managers themselves aren’t directly affiliated with the federal association. Former OPM Director John Berry put out a similar memo back in 2011. (CHCOC)

• The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has launched a new website to job seekers looking to start careers in the Intelligence Community. IntelligenceCareers.gov features videos and interactive tools to help educate potential workers on the different careers available with the 17 agencies and organizations. It also has a job exploration tool to recommend jobs based on an applicants education and skills. (ODNI)

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have finalized Medicare Advantage policies for 2017. Law 360 reports insurers will be getting slightly less money than they expected. The final policies also make changes to payment policies for enrollees with high costs and employer-backed retiree plans. (CMS)

• The General Services Administration accomplished a rare feat in the federal government — it turned off a legacy IT system. GSA announced yesterday it would decommission the National Electronic Accounting and Reporting or NEAR system. GSA said by turning off NEAR, it will save or avoid spending almost $7 million a year. Instead, GSA will use Pegasys, a modernized core financial system to handle NEAR’s accounts receivable and billing functionality. USDA’s National Finance Center runs Pegasys, meaning GSA also is moving to a shared services provider. (GSA)

•  The biggest federal employee union hires a former Capitol Hill heavy. Thomas Kahn has joined the American Federation of Government Employees as its legislative director. Kahn was the House Budget Committee’s Democratic staff director for 15 years. He has 30 years total of experience on Capitol Hill, retiring last month. AFGE said Kahn will replace Beth Moten, who retired in December. Kahn helped craft President Bill Clinton’s 1997 budget, which ran a surplus. Kahn started work yesterday. (AFGE)

• Though federal hiring managers are happier with the quality of candidates, the latest Performance.gov progress report found the satisfaction of hiring managers with quality of applicants rose from 59 to 61 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2016. But agencies struggle to develop the workforce to its full potential. They’re not reaching most of the milestones that fall under employee engagement and recruitment. (Federal News Radio)

• The IRS says its Washington D.C. headquarters will be closed Tuesday. The building still does not have full electricity after yesterday’s basement transformer fire. A spokesman said IRS employees who are telework-ready should plan to work remotely. (Federal News Radio)

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