Federal Newscast

One agency that gets overtime pay right

In today's Top Federal Headlines, a reported arrangement between House lawmakers could stave off impeachment vote for IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

Eric White@FEDERALNEWSCAST

September 15, 2016 8:30 am

3 min read

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

In today’s Top Federal Headlines, the Government Accountability Office says Customs and Border Protection’s system for paying their Border Patrol Agents overtime is working exactly how Congress wanted it.

One agency is compensating their employees in step with Congress’s wishes. The Government Accountability Office said Customs and Border Protection’s Pay Assignment Continuity Plan that started this year aligns with the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014. The program allows agents to choose which type of overtime pay they would like to receive. (Government Accountability Office)

A Virginia senator has demanded status updates on large agency progress towards the DATA Act deadline. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a letter to dozens of agencies asking if agencies will start reporting spending in a standard way by May of next year. Warner sponsored the Data Act in 2013. (Senator Mark Warner)

The National Archives cleans up what it calls a patchwork of policies for a certain type of federal information. New regulations for controlled, unclassified information, or CUI, become effective Nov. 14. They follow an executive order on CUI from 2010. Archive’s information security oversight office wrote the new rules. They establish governmentwide ways of designating, marking, disseminating and disposing of CUI. They cover information both in paper and electronic media. (Federal Register)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) would like the Office of Personnel Management to address contract deficiencies in its Office of Procurement Operations. This comes after OPM’s inspector general found the agency lacked oversight on a large chunk of its contracts. The agency was missing files on nearly a third of the contracts it was asked to produce during the audit. (Sen. Claire McCaskill)

There’s a reported compromise in the works which would postpone a vote for impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The deal calls for Koskinen to testify before the House Judiciary panel next week, and holding off on any impeachment vote until after the November elections. (Federal News Radio)

The Obama Administration is trying to shore up confidence in the U.S. election system despite recent cyber intrusions, saying it’s virtually impossible for foreign intruders to alter the results of the upcoming election. The commander of U.S. Cyber Command and the White House’s top homeland security advisor said this week that the election system is protected by the fact that its information technology is spread across thousands of local jurisdictions, and most of the systems that tabulate votes are physically separated from internet connections. Nonetheless, the Department of Homeland Security is offering help to all 50 secretaries of state — saying it can help scan their systems against foreign intrusions, and the White House is strongly urging them to accept the offer. (Federal News Radio)

The Defense Department’s innovation hub has expanded to Austin, Texas. The new copy of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental will join those already established in San Jose and Boston. Officials said the Austin campus will sponsor collaboration with military reservists who want to work with local tech companies. (Federal News Radio)

The Veterans Affairs Department paid about $5 million to settle with its employees on some 208 disciplinary cases according to House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.). VA said its reliance on settlement agreements isn’t unusual when compared to other agencies. But Congress is concerned that VA is overusing these settlement agreements to avoid litigation. VA used monetary payments to settle about 72 percent of those 208 cases. The committee fears settlement agreements could silence whistleblowers or deter them from speaking out. (Federal News Radio)

GAO gives a status check on federal digital services efforts. Digital services across the government remains a work in progress. The U.S. Digital Service and GSA’s 18F organization continue to struggle to measure progress against each of its stated goals. The Government Accountability Office found in a report that without those outcome oriented goals, it’s difficult to hold 18F and USDS accountable for the results of their projects. Additionally, GAO found only 6 of 25 agencies have agreements with OMB to create digital services teams. Two other agencies are expected to form digital services teams by September 30. (Government Accountability Office)