GSA to lower mileage reimbursement rate for privately owned cars

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, federal employees who use their own cars for business purposes will see mileage rates drop for a second straight year.

• Federal employees using their own cars for business purposes will see their mileage rate drop for a second straight year. The General Services Administration said the 2017 mileage reimbursement rate for privately owned cars will be 53.5 cents per mile. That’s down from 54 cents per mile in 2016 and 57.5 cents per miles in 2015. GSA also published the reimbursement rates for relocation expenses, and for the use of employees’ personal airplanes or personal motorcycles. (General Services Administration)

• NARA explains how it will go about publishing presidential records. A proposed rule from the National Archives and Records Administration updated the rules governing presidential records. It includes constitutional privileges for the current and former president to weigh in on whether or not they want a particular record shared with the public. (Federal Register)

• An independent body would lose its independence under this provision from the House Judiciary Committee. House Republicans voted to overhaul the Office of Congressional Ethics. It’s been independent since it was created in 2008. Instead, the office would come under control of the House Ethics Committee. It would get a new name, too, the Office of Congressional Complain Review. The move was prompted by last year’s Democratic sit-in over gun control. (Federal News Radio)

• The Air Force has selected its biggest class ever for the Career Intermission Program. Thirty-five airmen have been selected to take a one-to-three-year break from the military to develop personally or professionally. The program, which started back in 2014, is an effort to make the military more attractive to talented individuals. (Federal News Radio)

• The Defense Department said it’s making a renewed push to update the records of veterans who feel they were wrongly discharged from the military. The Pentagon said it’s reaching out to veteran and military service organizations — and individual veterans — urging them to apply to the military’s discharge review boards if they think they were treated unjustly under past policies, for example, receiving a less than honorable discharge because of their sexual orientation during the era of don’t ask don’t tell. DoD says it’s also examining cases of discharges surrounding post-traumatic stress disorder, and it’s considering new guidance dealing with past improper discharges of victims of sexual assault. (Department of Defense)

• New guidance warns federal employees to stay on task when teleworking. The Office of Personnel Management told employees it’s OK to work from home, but that doesn’t mean cancel the babysitter. An employee with children or adult dependents needs to arrange for dependent care, just as they would if they were at the office. (Chief Human Capital Officers Council)

• The Office of Personnel Management wants agencies to expand their definitions of diversity. It’s asking agency leaders to think of diversity and inclusion as an enterprise-wide challenge, not a human capital one. OPM also asks agencies to dig deeper into their personnel data. Agencies will soon have to study their own barriers to Hispanic hiring. But that proposal describing the barrier analysis study is awaiting final approval. (Federal News Radio)

• Federal agencies will also need to take action to gradually increase the number of disabled individuals they employ. A final rule from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission clarifies obligations the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 imposes on agencies. It also says they’ll need to provide personal assistance services to disabled workers who require them. (Federal Register)

• The White House has continued its push to make privacy a bigger focus for agencies. The Office of Management and Budget is directing agencies to apply the basic concepts of cybersecurity continuous monitoring to their privacy functions. OMB issued the final update to Circular A-108 late last month. Agencies now must perform frequent assessments on everything from systems of records notices to routine uses to training programs. The goal is to ensure the programs comply with the Privacy Act and corresponding regulations as well as to mitigate any risks. This is the first update to A-108 since 2000. (The White House)

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