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Monday federal headlines – April 27, 2015

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com reade...

Federal News Network Staff

April 27, 2015 8:42 am

4 min read

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows each day. Our headlines are updated twice per day — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — with the latest news affecting federal employees and contractors.

The Office of Personnel Management will start emailing the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey before the month ends. OPM Director Katherine Archuleta wrote to agency leaders asking them to encourage their employees to submit feedback. Nearly 400,000 federal employees responded to last year’s survey. (Gov Exec)
The House will begin working on a budget conference report this week. The House and Senate must also come to terms with differences over defense spending. The House Armed Services Committee will mark up the National Defense Authorization Act this week. It will likely include language blocking another round of Base Realignment and Closure. (Federal News Radio/Gov Exec)
A construction expert joined the Veterans Affairs Department’s team investigating its Denver hospital project. Joanna Krause is the head of the medical facilities design office at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command headquarters. The Washington Post reports VA has been trying to appoint Krause to the board since February, but it was waiting for approval from the Navy. But some lawmakers said it’s not enough. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D- Conn.) said they want an independent investigation. Blumenthal suggested the Justice Department do the investigation instead of VA. The construction project is $1 billion over budget and years behind schedule. (Washington Post)
Four veterans will climb Mount McKinley in a Memorial Day tribute. The Mission Memorial Day team is collecting the names of hundreds of fallen veterans. Those names will be inscribed on flags, which the teams will carry to the peak of Mount McKinley. So far, the team has collected 100 names of service members killed in war zones or during training exercises. Some of the names go back as far as World War II. (Federal News Radio)
Three senators urged the Postal Service to make big changes to its fleet. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) wrote a letter to Postmaster General Megan Brennan. They’re all members of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The senators want the agency to invest in technology to improve safety and reduce emissions. They suggested cameras and radar that warn drivers before an accident happens. Another idea — automatic braking, which cuts down the response time for drivers. The Postal Service operates a fleet of about 190,000 vehicles. (Sen. Cory Booker)
President Barack Obama welcomed members of the media to what he calls the “fourth quarter” of his presidency. That was at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday. The opening video featured Obama interviewing Grumpy Cat, golfing on the White House roof, swimming in the South Lawn fountain and carving himself into Mount Rushmore. Comedian Keegan-Michael Key also appeared as Obama’s “anger translator.” (White House)
The Air Force has flown disaster-relief experts and cargo to Nepal to aid rescue efforts after an earthquake killed more than 3,700 people there. The mission is part of the Defense Department’s $700,000 support for the effort. Already, two dozen DoD personnel were in Nepal on a training exercise. None of them were injured. That’s just a fraction of what the U.S. government is doing to help the small Asian country. On board that Air Force C-17 Globemaster were 70 disaster-relief experts from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team. Los Angeles County’s fire department will also help. USAID said it has allocated an initial $1 million for relief organizations in Nepal. The agency has worked in the country for more than 20 years, helping to prepare distribution centers and warehouses just in case there was a disaster like this one. (Federal News Radio)
A bill to help the Veterans Affairs Department get rid of any corruption or incompetence in its workforce would do just the opposite, according to the government’s largest labor union. The American Federation of Government Employees said it would deter whistleblowers because it would take away the job protections they now have when they come forward to report wrongdoing. Instead, it would let agency leaders fire employees nearly “at will.” House VA Chairman Jeff Miller (R- Fla.) sponsored the bill because, he said, the department is not holding employees accountable for poor patient care, long wait times and other problems that harm veterans. The legislation has support from several veterans’ groups. (AFGE)
The Veterans Affairs Department is hailing two moves it said would help veterans who need medical care. It has changed the way it calculates the distance from a veteran’s home to the closest VA facility. It’s no longer measuring as the crow flies, but driving distance. That change would double the number of vets who could go to private doctors on the agency’s dime. The VA also has formed a new advisory group to look at health care delivery, research and education. Dr. Jonathan Perlin of the Nashville, Tennessee-based Hospital Corporation of America will lead it. Perlin was the VA under secretary for health for three years in the George W Bush administration. (VA )