Veteran suicide rate up 30 percent since 2001

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

• The veteran suicide rate has increased by more than 30 percent since 2001, according to results of the largest analysis ever conducted on veteran suicide released by the Veterans Affairs Department. VA looked at more than 55 million records over 35 years. It reported that 20 veterans a day died from suicide in 2014 and about 65 percent of them were 50 or older. (Veterans Affairs Department)

• The Veterans Affairs Department has fallen behind on a project to cut its electric bill. VA’s inspector general found the department way behind on solar panel projects. This came to light as the Obama administration doubles down on orders for agencies to go green. At VA, six of 11 solar installation contracts awarded between 2010 and 2013 are still incomplete. One is four years late. The IG found errors in planning and too many design changes and still no juice from the panels. (Veterans Affairs Department Office of Inspector General)

• The Homeland Security Department is thinking about adding the election system as a critical cyber infrastructure. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said the department is starting to share best practices to local and state election officials about cybersecurity. There are about 9,000 local and state systems that collect, tally and report votes during a U.S. national election. Johnson’s comments came about a week after the first reports of the Democratic National Committee hack. (Federal News Radio)

• The mandate to move your agency’s financial or human resources systems to a shared service provider just got a little easier. The General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget released a new playbook yesterday. The playbook helps agencies implement the M3 framework, which is a six-step process to ensure migrations and modernizations are successful. Each phase includes a series of objectives and recommended activities that should be completed by the customer and/or provider organization. The playbook provides guidance, tools, and templates, based on lessons learned from previous migrations. (Unified Shared Services Management)

• You now have to use your cell phone in order to access your online my Social Security account. SSA said it’s complying with an executive order requiring agencies to use more authentication procedures for online services, and their research shows most people have cell phones. If you don’t have one, SSA said it may consider other options in the future. (Social Security Administration)

• The IT industry has been complaining about DoD’s plans to award a $17.5 billion IT services contract for the past several months. They won a significant victory yesterday. In the case of bid protests filed by CACI and Booz Allen Hamilton, the Government Accountability Office sided with vendors who’ve asserted for months that DISA’s plan to award a contract covering IT services for up to 10 years can’t possibly be assessed on the basis of price alone. GAO found that some of the criteria DISA planned to use in awarding vendors spots on the mulitple-award contract were arbitrary and contrary to federal acquisition law. IT recommended the agency significantly revise and reissue its solicitation for bids. (Federal News Radio)

• The moon is getting its first commercial visitor. The Federal Aviation Administration approved a request from Moon Express, to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface next year. FAA approved it since there’s no threat to public health, safety or national security. In the history of space travel, only government-sponsored landers have made it to the moon. (Federal Aviation Administration)

• The Federal Aviation Administration is looking for more air traffic controllers. Starting next Monday the agency will be accepting applications for entry-level candidates to fill about 1,400 positions during the seven-day job opening. FAA expects more than 25,000 applications for the highly competitive positions. (Federal Aviation Administration)

• Seven individuals were indicted on fraud related charges in connection with government construction contracts worth $350 million. The Justice Department said the contracts were earmarked for companies owned by minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities. The indictment alleged the seven hid the fact that the awarded construction companies were not owned by anyone fitting those descriptions. (Department of Justice)

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