DoD requirement costing contractors millions, industry group says

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 Navy is reversing course on a decision that would have eliminated sailors’ job titles.

• A prominent industry group claims a new Defense Department rule is costing the economy as much as $100 million. The Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations is appealing to DoD to suspend the rule, which requires companies consult with DoD about how they will use funds, given to them by the Pentagon, for research and development. (Professional Services Council)

• The Navy has reversed course on a wildly unpopular decision that eliminated its enlisted sailors’ job titles. Top officials faced an immediate firestorm of pushback, including a petition to the White House, when they announced in October that the Navy was abandoning “ratings” like boatswains mate and electronics technician and replacing them with a series of numerical job codes similar to the ones used by the other military services. Adm. John Richardson, the chief of Naval Operations, is expected to formally announce a return to the 241-year-old ratings system on Wednesday. News of the reversal was first reported by the Navy Times. (Associated Press)

• With agency discretionary budgets seeing a drop in new money by about 12 percent between 2010 and 2015, the Government Accountability Office has offered three tips from agencies who survived the decreases. EPA, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the Employment and Training Administration used a combination of management, strategy and data to survive at least a 9 percent budget cut. GAO said these actions mitigate service disruptions and maintain capacity. (Federal News Radio)

• The White House offers three strategies to better deal with the emergence of artificial intelligence. Investment, education and empowering workers are the three ways the White House wants to help the nation adjust to the emerging power of artificial intelligence. The White House issues a new report yesterday examining the potential impact of AI-driven automation on the economy. The report also details broad strategies that could increase the benefits of AI and mitigate its costs. The White House also said AI raises many new policy questions that need to be addressed, including productivity growth and workforce training. (White House)

• Michael Johnson, the chief information officer for the Energy Department, has left the agency. The Wall Street Journal reports Robbie Green, principal deputy CIO for enterprise information resources management will act as interim CIO. Johnson had originally planned to leave at the end of the Obama administration. He joined the agency back in March of 2015. (Wall Street Journal)

• The Veterans Affairs Department has said it’ll be able to respond to twice as many veterans now with a veterans crisis line satellite office. The VA opened an office in Atlanta with 200 call responders and 25 social service assistants. VA said the new office will be able to handle calls from 600 veterans a day. The VA inspector general earlier this year was critical of the veterans crisis line operation in Canandaigua, New York. The IG said staff were poorly trained and some calls from veterans went to voicemail. (Department of Veterans Affairs)

• Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) write to Vice President-elect Mike Pence outlining their concerns with the Veterans Affairs Department. The letter includes suggestions for priorities the next VA secretary should consider. Current VA Secretary Bob McDonald said congressional gridlock was the biggest barrier to transforming the agency this year. Congress didn’t pass major health care or veterans appeals reforms this year. The 115th Congress will have to take up those issues in 2017. (Federal News Radio)

• The VA’s Burn Pit Registry is close to having 100,000 members. The agency launced the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry in June 2014 to help understand the long term health effects from exposure to burn pit fumes. Vets who join the registry can receive a free medical evaluation to find out if their health was effected. Burn pits are used as a waste removal method. They were heavily used on bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, though the Defense Department said only a few remain now. (Department of Veterans Affairs)

• President Obama signs the National Park Service Centennial Act into law. Secretary of the Interior Department Sally Jewell said the law will help shape the next 100 years of the National Park Service. The law helps establish funding initiatives for increasing outreach and volunteer opportunities. (Department of the Interior)

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