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Thursday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Phil Vogel Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: Pay As You Go legislation has passed in the House of Represen...

Federal News Network Staff

July 23, 2009 8:11 am

2 min read

Written by Phil Vogel
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Pay As You Go legislation has passed in the House of Representatives. The system would require tax cuts or new benefit programs to be paid for with tax increases or cuts to other programs. If the “pay-go” rule is broken, automatic spending cuts would kick in to make up the difference.

President Obama has nominated a new undersecretary for domestic finance in the Treasury Department. Jeffrey Goldstein is a managing director at a private-equity firm and former chief financial officer of the World Bank. If confirmed, Goldstein will serve as a top adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on U.S. financial matters.

The Commission on Wartime Contracting has begun a 10-day trip to Iraq and Kuwait to examine the Defense Department’s plans for transferring or disposing of $3 billion dollars worth of property and equipment. According to a GovExec report, the commission is looking into the Pentagon’s plan for removing more than 615,000 items of contractor-acquired, government-owned property from American bases in Iraq. A trip to Afghanistan is planned for mid-August.

The U.S. Census Bureau has a new director, but could be facing another staffing challenge, according to the Washington Post. Director Robert Groves warned that almost half of the bureau’s top managers will be eligible for retirement next year. He said he will work to attract qualified employees but urged employees to begin planning now.

The Department of Defense is expanding its pilot test of their MiCare system, according to information week. The MiCare system allows military personnel, their families, and veterans access to personal health records on Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault. The Department is also talking with Veterans Affairs about working together on the system.

The Homeland Security Department relaunched its Web site and became the first Cabinet-level agency to follow the White House directives on social media. President Barack Obama’s aides have been urging agencies to add interactive components to their Web sites, such as videos and blogs. The White House praised the Homeland Security Department’s online presence as a model for other agencies.

Other Stories We’re Following

Census deploys Windows Mobile for field data collection (GCN)

Obama turns health care focus to families, voters

Audit Urges Cuts at U.S. Embassy in Baghdad (WashingtonPost)

Judge upholds Safavian conviction (FederalTimes)

US strike may have killed bin Laden’s son: report (AFP)

Feds: US man gave al-Qaida NYC subway information

Government Meeting? Stay Away From Fun City (WallStreetJournal)