Democratic leaders ask Zinke to go easy on national monuments

In today’s Federal Newscast, the minority leaders and whips of both chambers of Congress asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to not eliminate any national monuments.

• Top Democrats in the House and Senate have asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke not to eliminate any national monuments. The minority leaders and whips of both chambers sent a letter to Zinke, reminding him of the cultural and historical significance of national monuments, which they say are under threat. An April executive order called for a review of several sites. (Democratic Whip)

• President Donald Trump wants to add 8,000 new full-time equivalents to the Homeland Security Department in 2018. Many of those positions would get filled at Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The president’s budget sets aside $300 million to recruit and retain border patrol and immigration officers. DHS is one of the few civilian agencies that got a budget boost from the president, though some components will see reductions. (Federal News Radio)

• Retention and recruitment issues are clearly top priorities for the Air Force as well. The 2018 budget proposal funds 4,000 more active-duty airmen and also adds support staff to squadrons to lessen additional duties for airmen. The budget increases reenlistment bonuses for pilots for the first time in almost 20 years from $20,000 to $30,000. (Federal News Radio)

• The Navy says it needs a much bigger fleet, but it won’t tell Congress how much it will cost for at least another year. The Navy said it needs 60 more ships than it has now in order to meet global security challenges. But its 2018 budget proposal includes just eight new ships. That’s fewer than Congress approved for 2017. Officials say they need to fix readiness problems before they offer details on growing the fleet. Those they say will come with the 2019 budget proposal. (Federal News Radio)

• The Small Business Administration is getting closer to filling out its top leadership. The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship unanimously approves the nomination of Rear Adm. Althea Coetzee to serve as SBA’s deputy administrator. SBA head Linda McMahon recently appointed four new associate administrators to lead various components of the agency. (Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship)

• The leadership pantheon at the Pentagon has three fewer blanks. David Norquist will become the new comptroller of the Defense Department after receiving confirmation in the Senate by unanimous consent. The Senate also confirms Robert Story Karem as assistant Defense secretary for international security affairs, and Kari Bingen as principal deputy undersecretary for intelligence. Three more Defense management nominees are still waiting for a vote. Senators also confirm former Iowa governor Terry Brandstad as ambassador to China. (U.S. Senate)

• The senators sponsoring the Modernizing Government Technology Act are pressing their colleagues to take quick action on the bill. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) write to colleagues on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee asking for swift consideration of the legislation. Moran and Udall said the bill is needed to move agencies off old technology systems and improve federal cybersecurity. The House passed the MGT Act earlier in May. (Sen. Jerry Moran)

• The General Services Administration isn’t changing vendors to run its identity management shared service center. GSA awards DXC Technology a 10-year, $154 million contract to continue providing end-to-end Personal Identity Verification, or PIV, credential issuance and maintenance services for civilian agencies. DXC Technology is a newly merged company of HP Enterprise Services and CSC. HPES has run the identity management center since 2007. The GSA shared service center provides identity management services for about 600,000 cardholders across 105 civilian agencies. (FedBizOpps)

• It may not phony bologna, but it still poses a risk to U.S. consumers. Customs and Border Protection says it seized 30 rolls of Mexican bologna at its Santa Teresa area port. CBP says bologna is a prohibited product because of it’s made from pork and could potentially introduce foreign animal diseases to the U.S. pork industry. (Customs and Border Protection)

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