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• The program tasked with ensuring federal labs that handle lethal pathogens are doing so safely is in need of an overhaul. A Government Accountability Office report set for release today will highlight issues at the Federal Select Agent Program. Problems include overworked safety inspectors and weak biosafety protections. The GAO audited laboratory safety oversight following errors that could have exposed dozens of people to live anthrax bacteria and the deadly toxin ricin. Reuters, who got a first look, said the report found the program puts too much emphasis on physical security and needs to focus more on biosafety issues. (Reuters)

• Though it has been canceled, the FBI is looking at how Whitefish Energy Holdings was able to win the contract for rebuilding Puerto Rico’s electrical grid. According to CNN, it’s not known what exactly the bureau is investigating, but members of Congress did raise concerns over how it was awarded to the small Montana company. (CNN)

• The Office of Personnel Management will let the U.S. Postal Service make payments to the federal retirement system using calculations based on its own workforce, not the entire federal workforce. OPM issued a final rule on the topic. The Postal Service has long argued that the demographics of its workforce differ drastically from the rest of the federal workforce. USPS said it’s overpaid into the retirement accounts by billions of dollars. The OPM rule lets the Postal Service use its own calculation to make future payments. (Federal Register)

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has broken ground on its new headquarters. The new consolidated headquarters is located about 10 miles outside of Washington, D.C. in Camp Springs, Maryland. The site will house roughly 3,000 USCIS employees and is scheduled to open in spring 2020. (Federal News Radio)

• Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said he’s still keeping an eye on possible proposals from House Republicans’ tax reform bill that may affect federal workers. Cardin said Republicans may try to cut the maximum amount of pre-taxed money workers can contribute to their 401(k) plans, including the Thrift Savings Plan. The max contribution was recently raised to $18,500 for 2018. (Federal News Radio)

• A good security grade for the Environmental Protection Agency could be better. A yearly audit from the EPA’s inspector general to test FISMA compliance showed the agency has an effective information security program and has completed all effective information security requirements. However, the IG said EPA needs to do a better job verifying whether contractors with significant information security responsibilities comply with specialized security training requirements. (Environmental Protection Agency)

• A district court has ruled transgender service members must stay in the military and the Pentagon cannot ban transgender people from joining the military. The decision is an injunction that will hold until the court issues its final decision. President Donald Trump announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military in July. (Federal News Radio)

• President Trump has picked two more leaders to fill political positions at the Pentagon. The White House said the president intends to nominate Michael Griffin as the next deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Griffin is a former NASA administrator, and helped spearhead the agency’s commercial cargo delivery program. The president also picked Randall Schriver as the assistant secretary for Asian and Pacific affairs. His previous experience includes a stint as an assistant secretary of state with a portfolio covering the same region. (White House)

• A new partnership promises shared services help for agency management. The Senior Executives Association and the Shared Services Leadership Coalition announced a collaborative effort to help senior government leaders implement shared services business models. It will include a future seminar series focused on the opportunities shared services can create.

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