Federal Drive

Thursday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Ruben Gomez Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: Two percent: That’s the amount of next year’s pa...

Federal News Network Staff

July 9, 2009 8:17 am

2 min read

Written by Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Two percent: That’s the amount of next year’s pay raise for federal civilians, at least if the House gets its way. The Appropriations Committee just passed that provision. A Senate panel has proposed a 2.9 percent increase.

Blaming his own agency: Federal Protective Service Director Gary Schenkel says a lack of oversight exposed secure federal buildings to bomb components. Congressional auditors smuggled the materials into level-4 facilities, including the Department of Homeland Security. The Government Accountability Office presented its findings yesterday by before a Senate committee.

Nearly a decade after a State Department laptop containing highly classified information disappeared in an embarrassing security lapse, the agency is still unable to account for all of its portable computers, a government report said Wednesday.

Beginning in September Federal Contractors will need to confirm the identities of their 4 million workers against Federal Databases through the E-Verify program. The program, matches Social Security Numbers against government databases for accuracy. The Homeland Security Secretary now says her department will not send Social Security “no-match” letters to 140,000 U.S. employers asking them to resolve citizenship status or fire the workers. Instead the agency will now issue fines and conduct employee audits.

Swine flu will continue causing problems this fall. The federal government is getting out in front of the problem, by asking health and education officials from every state how they’ll handle flu-riddled schools. An estimated one million Americans have been infected with the virus and children are still spreading it in summer camps. Within weeks, manufacturers will start delivering test doses of a swine flu vaccine to test safety and efficacy.

Union-rights move a step closer to workers at the Transportation Security Administration. The House Homeland Security Committee begins markup on a bill today. Committee Chair Bennie Thompson tells FederalNewsRadio that more than 130 members of congress have signed on.

There’s a new leader for the National Institutes of Health. The White House announcing the president’s intention to nominate Dr. Francis Collins for the job. Collins is a physician-geneticist. And the White House says he’s known for his leadership of the Human Genome Project.

Other Stories We’re Following

Agency consolidated as part of BRAC to open headquarters (BaltimoreSun)

40 Marine Aircraft Missing (AllGov)

Head of SEC inspections office leaving in August