CBO: Trump administration’s proposed changes to federal retirement could save $109B

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• The government could save $109 billion over 10 years if Congress implemented the president’s proposed changes to the federal retirement system. The Congressional Budget Office said increasing retirement contributions, eliminating the cost-of-living adjustment, and cutting the Social Security supplement would save the government about $2 billion in the first year. (Congressional Budget Office)

• The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wants to know how the Chemical Safety Board went about improving employee morale. Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said the agency’s employee satisfaction has been dropping for years. However, the board improved its scores on the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey the most of any other small agency. The oversight committee is currently investigating a problematic work environment at the Chemical Safety Board. (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

• The Transportation Department is leading the government in deregulatory actions. A report from conservative think tank American Action Forum said the department took 110 deregulatory actions and only 30 regulatory. The Department of Health and Human Services came in second, with 61 deregulatory actions and 22 regulatory. The report said the current ratio governmentwide is 3.75 deregulatory actions for every one regulatory, beating the administration’s goal of 2 to 1. (American Action Forum)

• NASA needs to improve its management of reimbursable agreements. The agency’s inspector general found that the two electronic data systems it’s currently using are plagued with inaccuracies. Reimbursable agreements are used when NASA provides goods and services to agencies and other entities. The IG said the agency can expect $2.8 billion from them in fiscal 2018. (NASA Office of Inspector General)

• The administration wants to add another central database to the General Services Administration’s integrated acquisition environment. An interagency working group is seeking to reduce the burden on more than 200,000 federal grantees. The committee is developing a draft governmentwide standard set of assurances for grant applicants. Each applicant must certify that it will comply with more than a dozen laws and regulations for each application submitted to the government. The White House said this requirement is unnecessary and duplicative. The administration now wants to establish a centralized service for the collection of and access to governmentwide grant assurances. the Office of Management and Budget said this service would be available by the second quarter of fiscal 2019. (White House)

• The Justice Department received a $20 million settlement with a contractor it alleged knowingly overcharged the Navy for goods and services. The lawsuit claimed Inchcape Shipping Services Holdings Ltd. violated the False Claims Act. DoJ said the overcharging lasted from 2005 to 2014. (Department of Justice)

• Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said the service is currently testing a new aircraft with a smaller operating cost. She told the Atlantic Council the light attack aircraft can fly for less than $10,000 an hour. That’s compared to $30,000 an hour for some fighter jets. Two prototypes will be tested in July at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. (Federal News Radio)

• Another long-time Defense official is calling it a career. Alan Lewis, the Defense Information Systems Agency’s director of the defense spectrum organization, is retiring after 38 years of service. Lewis will leave the federal government Thursday and DISA will hold a ceremony for him at Fort Meade, Maryland. He came to DISA in 1991, when it was called the Defense Communications Agency. At the time, Lewis was on active duty as a Navy lieutenant commander. After retiring from the Navy, Lewis joined DISA in 2005 as a senior executive. During that stint at DISA, Lewis led the Defense Spectrum Organization, where he helped develop policies and technological standards to make sure DoD uses spectrum more efficiently. (Defense Information Systems Agency)

• The U.S. Geological Survey has turned itself into a go-to place for information about volcano activity in Hawaii. USGS uses its own website plus social media to let people see the latest. Visitors this morning could learn where thin strands of volcanic glass, known as Pele’s hair, are landing. The material can cause skin and eye irritation, and which fissures are most active. USGS offers an email update service and a phone answering center. It added a frequently-asked questions section to its Facebook page. (U.S. Geological Survey)

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