To listen to the Federal Newscast on your phone or mobile device, subscribe on PodcastOne or Apple Podcasts. The best listening experience on desktop can be found using Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

• The Pentagon’s inspector general is investigating whether DoD is complying with a law meant to protect domestic suppliers. The audit is set to start this month. The I-G says it’s looking into whether the military services and the Defense Logistics Agency are complying with the Berry Amendment. The law dates back to World War II, and generally requires DoD to buy products like food, clothing, fabrics and measuring tools from companied that make them in the United States. The audit comes amid a series of executive orders from the Trump Administration that urge federal agencies to pay more attention to “buy American” laws that are already on the books. (Department of Defense)

• The Navy is giving sailors new tools to make permanent changes of station easier. The improvements are part of a multi-phase approach to changing how the Navy handles PCS. The changes include lean orders that are simplified and in plain language. The orders are available on the MyPCS mobile app and the MyNavy web portal. Sailors also have access to a PCS entitlements calculator to help them figure out travel entitlements. The next phase of the Navy’s PCS improvements will introduce an automated travel claim capability to the MyPCS mobile app. That will be rolled out in early September. (Navy)

• CBD products are still a no-no for Naval Sailors. The 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act made hemp products with less than point three percent THC legal for commercial sale. Though they’re widely available now, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said in a Wednesday announcement that the use of those products can lead to a non-honorable discharge because of the THC in them. (Federal News Network)

• A new website from the Air Force Sustainment Center looks to make it easier to hire civilians using the direct and expedited hiring authority. The site puts positions directly on the new AFSCCivilianCareers.com website and allows applicants to submit their resumes directly to the Air Force, instead of going through the government’s USAJobs site. The Air Force portal also shows a map of base locations where the sustainment center is trying to fill vacancies. (Edwards Air Force Base)

• Nearly two years after releasing the solicitation, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s next generation analysis contract is finally in place. DIA awarded 16 vendors a spot on the Solutions for Intelligence Analysis 3 contract. SIA 3 has a ceiling of 17 billion dollars over the next 10 years. Under the contract, the large and small vendors will provide DIA with worldwide coverage, support and assistance by delivering timely, objective and cogent military intelligence to warfighters, defense planners and defense and national security policy makers. (Department of Defense)

• The Energy Department is moving its headquarters’ desktop infrastructure to the cloud. Denise Hill, Energy’s acting deputy CIO for enterprise policy says the agency has started out by migrating some smaller applications, before moving on to major components. Energy will also move the contents of data centers in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Germantown, Maryland to the cloud. (Federal News Network)

• Agencies and vendors face two deadlines next week around the procurement and use of Chinese technology products. The Federal Acquisition Regulations Council issued an interim final rule yesterday telling contractors that they can’t use ZTE and Huawei products or services on their networks. The regulation takes effect on August 13. It also requires agencies to modify existing contracts to ensure future task orders include the new prohibition of these potentially risky products. Agencies also are facing a deadline of next Tuesday to confirm they have removed ZTE and Huawei products off their internal networks. Both of these requirements were a part of the 2019 defense authorization bill. (Federal News Network)

• A new Senior Executive Service candidate development program from the Agriculture Department looks to prepare up and coming IT leaders. It’s designed to give GS-14’s and 15s executive level developmental assignment for four months. . It’s open to federal employees from any agency who have at least one year of supervisory experience. Participants in the program will complete an executive level developmental assignment for four months. (USA Jobs)

• The government and federal employee unions continue to trade barbs over the U.S. Court of Appeals’ recent decision on the President’s workforce executive orders. U.S. attorneys filed another plea to immediately lift the injunction on the president’s collective bargaining executive orders. The Trump administration says the injunction is constraining agencies’ ability to conduct ongoing collective bargaining negotiations. The administration also expressed some impatience that employee unions haven’t yet filed a petition for a rehearing with the appeals court. Unions have suggested they will request a rehearing. (Federal News Network)

• Federal Labor Relations Authority Chairman Colleen Duffy Kiko names Michael Jeffries as the agency’s new chief operating officer and executive director. Jeffries previously served as the FLRA chief information officer and deputy executive director. He’s held leadership positions at several other agencies, including the Justice Department, Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Food and Drug Administration. (Federal Labor Relations Authority)

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