DHS secretary defends 2018 budget request

• Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly defended the Trump administration’s budget 2018 request. Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee that the request, a 6.8 percent increase, is sufficient to continue and expand the department’s ability to protect the nation. But he slammed court injunctions against the president’s orders to limit immigration from certain countries, saying he’s not fully confident DHS can keep terrorists from taking advantage of the U.S. immigration and visa systems. (Department of Homeland Security)

• The Office of Management and Budget and White House Office of American Innovation are doing a 90-day sprint to come up new ideas on cloud, shared services and the federal hiring process. Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer Margie Graves said the new ideas will align with the administration’s government reorganization executive order, and the charge to eliminate burdensome requirements. OMB will review recommendations from the teams at the end of the sprint and decide how to move forward. (Federal News Radio)

• Congress gets its first look at the Veterans Affairs Department’s proposal to redesign the VA Choice Program to Congress. VA Secretary David Shulkin said the new plan would get rid of arbitrary administrative rules in the current program. Some senators and veterans service organizations worry the proposal pushes VA closer to privatization, though. (Federal News Radio)

• A bipartisan bill aims to improve the odds of veteran-owned small businesses getting government contracts. The Ensuring Veteran Enterprise Participation in Strategic Sourcing Act directs VA to work with the General Services Administration to include more service-disabled veteran and veteran-owned small businesses in its contracts. (House Veterans Affairs Committee)

• A major change in how the General Services Administration meets its mission is coming soon. The General Services Administration is planning a major reorganization by moving the Technology Transformation Service into the Federal Acquisition Service. Acting GSA Administrator Tim Horne wrote to staff detailing the changes yesterday. He also is shifting the FAS Commissioner position to become a political position and named Alan Thomas as the new head of FAS replacing Tom Sharpe. Horne said the reorganization will help GSA better use its expertise and assets to support the White House and its Office of American Innovation. (Federal News Radio)

• The National Park Service hopes its new sexual harassment prevention and response coordinator will help the agency with its employee misconduct problems. Tammy Duchesne’s role includes analyzing the results of an agency-wide survey and reviewing online training materials. Duchesne is on temporary assignment from her job as a national park superintendent in Hawaii. (Federal News Radio)

• Senators questioned the efficiency of the Homeland Security Department’s spending on service contracts. After the GAO reported DHS spent more than $10 billion on services contracts in 2015, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee wants more details. Members want a review of how DHS is using strategic sourcing and determine whether to buy services or hire federal workers. (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs)

• The Defense Department is in the process of updating its climate change policies. It’s revising its unified facilities code to adjust to climate change. The Navy is going further by requiring all new buildings take into account the possibility of sea level rise. This comes as the president recently pulled the U.S. out of a global pact to fight climate change. (Federal News Radio)

• President Trump formally nominated two defense industry executives for top Pentagon jobs. The president had already announced his intent to nominate Pat Shanahan as deputy secretary of Defense back in March, but on Wednesday, he made it official. Shanahan is currently Boeing’s vice president for supply chain and operations. He would replace Robert Work, one of just a few Obama appointees who’s continued to serve into the Trump administration. The president also nominated Ryan McCarthy as undersecretary of the Army. He’s an executive at Lockheed Martin, formerly an Army Ranger who also served as a top assistant to former Defense Secretary Bob Gates. (The White House)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.