Commissioner Astrue: Social Security back up center ready early

11-20-09

By Suzanne Kubota
Senior Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com

House lawmakers say the Social Security Administration is projecting a backlog of 1 million disability claims by the end of fiscal 2010.

But as Social Security isn't standing idly by.

Commissioner Michael Astrue told FederalNewsRadio that an unexpected increase in online applications is being met with a push to get more services and technology online.

I think the good news there is that we have expanded and accelerated the capacity at our backup center. We didn't even have a backup center a few years ago at Social Security. We do have one now. It's up and operational. It should be able to fully back up the system in an emergency in a matter of months.

Work on the back up center started in 2007 in Durham, N.C., with a deadline in mind.

When we run out of frontline capacity in the current National Computing Center in Baltimore in, we're projecting, late 2012, what we'll be able to do is gerry-rig with the back up center until we have capacity from the National Computing Center. And although 2015 is probably the right estimate for the center being fully completed, we expect to have the shell completed and some service provided beginning at some point probably mid-2013, sometime in that time frame. And there will be about a two year transition until that's fully up and operational.

Astrue said an increased workload for Social Security has been anticipated, but nothing like what they're seeing now. "What's happened in the past year," Astrue told the Federal Drive, "is that those (claims) have gone up dramatically above those projections, because it's a response to the recession."

So we have been working very hard to improve and expand the service channels that we have for the public. We can't process this increasing amount of work by the way we did it 20 years ago. We have to be more savvy and the public is really expecting to deal with us online in more and more ways. So we are greatly expanding our suite of online services. We've improved them so that they are much more friendly.

Astrue said he's seeing great progress in the online services since a rather blistering review a few years ago. "We now have the three best in the federal government, and in fact, we improved the very best one this week to provide services to more people, and we're going to be, I believe, the first in the federal government to put those online services into Spanish."

Technology truly is the future of the Social Security, according to the Commissioner.

It's really the only way we can manage the workload. We've gone in a very short period of time from about 10% of our retirement applications filed online to about 36%. That's what's really saved us in the recession. That's given us enough time to deal with all the other people who are flooding into our offices who need help on a wide array of issues.

Astrue credits congressional support, half a billion dollars in funding from the Recovery Act and adjustments in bringing the data center online to maintain service not only without interruption, but even with improvements.

Commissioner Michael Astrue appeared on before a hearing on Capitol Hill earlier this week. FederalNewsRadio's Max Cacas reports progress in clearing the backlogs is now threatened by another, more pressing problem: the furloughs of state disability claims reviewers, whose salary is partially paid for by federal funds.

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Tips for deducting charitable contributions

11-20-09

By Suzanne Kubota
Senior Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com

The Office of Personnel Management is giving DC area federal employees more time to donate under the Combined Federal Campaign. You have until January 15th. But time is running out for you to get a tax benefit for donations made in 2009.

Certified financial planner Art Stein told FederalNewsRadio everyone should stop and really think about how much to give and when.

Charitable contribution is a worthwhile thing to do, in and of itself, but if you do it in a tax efficient way, then it'll just give you more money to contribute in the future. By tax efficient way, I mean that it makes more sense to give in a year when your income is high than when your income is low.

If you're going to retire next year, for example, Stein says to make the contribution now, before your income drops.

With the extension of the CFC deadline to January 15th, Stein reminds us that in order to qualify for the deduction in the 2009 tax year, the donation must be made before the end of the calendar year. "You can write a check on December 31st," said Stein, "even though it doesn't get cashed until the following year, you're still good."

Other tips from Stein:

• Get a receipt. Having a cancelled check is important.
• If you're gifting used clothing or tools or the like, and it's worth more than $500, you'll need to get it appraised.
• If you donate a car, "it can't be a complete piece of junk car. It has to have some value."

According to the IRS's Ten Tips for Deducting Charitable Contributions, "If you claim a deduction of more than $500 for all contributed property, you must attach IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, to your return."

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Defense's Common Access Card making uncommon progress

11-20-09

When it comes to smart card implementation, just how far along is the Department of Defense? Frank Jones is the Director for Personnel Identity for the Protection Solutions Division at the Defense Department. He joins us with a progress report.

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GAO tips on how to avoid stimulus job reporting embarrassment

11-20-09

The Government Accountability Office says agencies and the White House need to do more to make sure stimulus recipients understand reporting requirements. As we've been reporting, the findings come after a series of media investigations that revealed serious flaws in jobs information that stimulus recipients are reporting. Chris Mihm is the GAO's Managing Director for Strategic Issues. He joins us to detail what agencies should be doing to clarify things.

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FBI assesses al Qaeda's cyberthreat

11-20-09

Cybersecurity Update

The FBI explained how its anti-cyber crime task force works at a Congressional hearing this week, and outlined the Bureau's latest accomplishments. They include catching the masterminds of a coordinated raid on over 1,000 ATM machines. Neither the FBI nor the White House thinks the United States is prepared to stop a really bad attack through cyberspace on our financial or physical networks. Steven R. Chabinsky, one of the FBI's Cyber Division directors told a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that terrorists do not require long term, persistent network access to accomplish their goals. And that limited windows of opportunity could destroy portions of our networked infrastructure. The FBI's first line of defense against cyber crime is its Cyber Division. About 2,000 special agents with instruction in the field, and another 1,000 with more advanced training.

More than half of the nation's hospitals and health care providers surveyed intend to buy more cybersecurity tools to safeguard against breaches of electronic medical records. This is in response to requirements in the economic stimulus law and reported in FCW. A new survey of 186 health care providers and associates show that More than 90 percent of the survey respondents said their organizations have either changed, or plan to change, their policies and procedures to prevent and detect data breaches. Over 75 percent plan to do additional staff training against breaches, and 75 percent are revising their organization's security policies and procedures.

The Social Security Administration receives passing grades on computer safety. In a new audit, the agency's inspector general says Social Security is meeting requirements under the Federal Information Security Management Act (or FISMA). The report praises internal security controls, including intrusion detection, closed circuit television and automated system checks. But there is room for improvement: The IG found significant deficiencies in the agency's financial system controls.

Hoping to bolster cyber security for the federal government, the intelligence community has made an investment in a California company specializing in the detection of malware. WashingtonTechnology reports, the venture capital arm of the intelligence community, In-Q-Tel, made the investment in the cyber security company FireEye. Terms were not disclosed. In a statement, FireEye and In-Q-Tel said the investment will speed up the company's product development. FireEye makes an appliance that monitors inbound network traffic. The appliance contains software tools that analyze the traffic and route suspicious messages to an offline computer for further examination. If the suspicious messages are found to be malware, the appliance alerts systems administrators.

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Friday Morning Federal Newscast

11-20-09

Written by Ruben Gomez & Tom Temin
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning's federal news as heard on WFED:

Government auditors call on the White House and federal agencies to improve how stimulus recipients understand reporting requirements. The Government Accountability Office, Thursday, outlined a series of steps designed to bolster data quality on Recovery.gov. Among them, a better definition of full time equivalent jobs. In recent weeks, media reports have poked holes in jobs data, including some recipients reporting jobs saved or created in congressional districts that do not exist.

Another new Web site is coming from the Obama administration. Launching in December, the site will contain Medicare spending data so that it can be monitored by the public. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says the site will allow people to view the health services performed as well as payments, organized by state, diagnosis and hospital. NextGov reports, some health care specialists caution that privacy protections will make spotting fraud difficult. The web site would join a string of sites launched since President Obama took office. These include Recovery.gov, the IT Dashboard, and Data.gov.

Foreign contractors could face legal action in US courts under a Senate bill. The measure would require foreign companies working on federal contracts to consent to "personal jurisdiction" in American federal courts. Government Executive reports the bill was re-introduced this week. More than six years ago, a US service member was killed in Iraq by a supply truck owned by a Kuwait-based contractor. The family has sued, but the company argues American courts lack jurisdiction.

You've got a little more time to donate your money, under the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area. Federal Times reports the deadline has been extended to January 15th. The local coordinating committee says the extension comes because many agency campaigns started late. DC area feds have so far donated more than $22 million dollars. The goal is $64 million.

The Homeland Security Department is hoping to expand nationwide a test program that lets citizens returning to the United States from oversees, avoid long screening lines. Under the Global Entry plan, people would pay a $100 fee, undergo a background check, and be able to access expedited security screening lines upon arrival. Citizens and permanent residents must be at least 14 years of age to participate in Global Entry. The program has been piloted at seven international airports in the U.S. Average waiting times at the test locations has fallen from 10 minutes to 3 minutes. After extending it to most of the international airports in the country, DHS would expand the program to foreigners coming from countries with trustworthy background checks of their own.

The General Services Administration's headquarters building at 18th and F Streets is old. More than 90 years old. But the agency want to revamp its historic building to the energy efficient standards of the 21st century. GSA headquarters is one of a handful of buildings that will undergo major refurbishing, using Recovery Act funding. Kevin Kampschroer, GSA's Acting Director of High-Performance Green Buildings, told an AFCEA conference yesterday, he wants the building to become a model of energy efficiency. Kampschroer says updates will include solar power panels on the roof. Windows would be restored so that they open. But they would be wired to shut off the heating and cooling to an office when opened.

More news links

Ethics rule could slow DOD's revolving employment door (FCW)

NRC weighs sanctions against VA in prostate cancer treatment errors (GovExec)

Judge orders compensation for gay couple denied benefits (L.A. Times)

The Botax? Nip/tuck levy to help health care plan

Data expert to feds: Open wide-or fail (FCW)

Army limits media access at Palin event at NC base

Woman awarded $3M in assault claim against KBR

Remarks of OPM Director John Berry at Human Capital Management Forum (OPM)
Starts with "Hello! It's great to be here with all of you at the Human Capital Management Forum. Thank you, Mike Causey, for the kind introduction."

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Honor Flight is fighting the clock to honor vets

11-19-09

By Suzanne Kubota
Senior Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com

World War II veterans are coming to Washington DC this weekend to see the memorial dedicated to their service.

The Honor Flight Network transports these heroes so that every veteran of that war, Korea and Vietnam, can see how they are being honored by a grateful nation. But these vets are running out of time.

With thousands of vets on the waiting list, Earl Morse, the President of Honor Flight, explained how they decide who will be on the flight.

"Our number one priority is actually all terminally ill veterans. If there's a Korean or a Vietnam veteran out there that has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and they've never been able to visit their memorial, they go to the top of the list."

Those veterans are called "TLCs". Morse told FederalNewsRadio "TLC doesn't stand for Tender Loving Care. All of the veterans get that. It stands for Their Last Chance."

Next on the priority list are the veterans of World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars.

"We haven't figured out yet," said Morse, "which veterans do not deserve to see their memorials in Washington, DC."

Honor Flight is dependent on volunteers and they have some very special help at the local airports. Morse said the flights have been running for the past five years, so when the flights arrive, the volunteer ranks get a little boost from airport employees.

They make announcements overhead. They say, "ladies and gentlemen, if you're not doing anything for the next 10, 15 minutes, there's a planeload of World War II veterans arriving at gate 27 B," or something like that. "If you want to come down there and welcome them to their memorial... en route to their memorial, come on down." And the outpouring of emotion and appreciation, and almost of reverence, for what they have accomplished, you see that happen on every arrival into Washington, DC. It is so moving and powerful.

The veterans, many in wheelchairs, are met and taken to "deluxe motorcoaches" to be taken to the memorials.

Morse said most of the visits to Washington are day trips. While the visits are short, it's a powerful experience for volunteers and vets alike.

"It's their memorial. They've earned it, they've waited 60 years to see it, and to be standing side by side with them when they witness it? I don't know who gets more out of it. I think maybe we do."

The last trip of the season will be this Saturday. Ice around the memorials is a concern over the winter, so the trips will start up again in May.

To volunteer or donate, or just to learn more about Honor Flight, go to HonorFlight.org

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MSPB: How to make the most of the retirement wave

11-19-09

By Suzanne Kubota
Senior Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com

Large numbers of federal managers and supervisors are expected to retire in the years ahead, and as they do, someone has to fill their shoes.

A new report by the Merit Systems Protection Board says that creates a real opportunity and challenge for the federal government.

Peter Leeds, the project manager and senior research analyst at MSPB, explained:

This presents the federal government with a golden opportunity to replace them with a new breed of supervisor who is better able to manage and cope in a dynamic new work environment full of new management initiatives; a changing workplace where there is more knowledge-based work and many new initiatives such as pay for performance systems and teleworking environments that require a new type of supervisor who can manage in these environments.

Leeds said not only is the workforce changing: the workplace is as well.

The federal government is moving more and more towards matrix organizations and networks of supervisors where individuals are certainly reporting to multiple supervisors and it's adding complexity to the workplace such that it has changed the knowledge, skills and abilities of the modern supervisor.

The vision of the supervisor of the future, or at least of 5 to 10 years from now, is drastically different from the present, said Leeds.

The modern supervisor is going to have to balance oversight with empowerment as they learn to deal with a knowledge based workforce that is more educated, more independent and more internally versus externally motivated, so they're going to have to bring with it a new set of skills to cope with this. Those skills will be the ability to motivate people internally, to manage remotely in telework environments, to cope with a multi-sector workforce where there are more and more contractors they're going to have to manage through intermediaries. All of this requires a new set of knowledge, skills and abilities and agencies will now have the opportunity to replace these retiring supervisors with individuals who possess this skill set.

The report also suggests "agencies should take advantage of the coming retirement wave to recruit and select qualified women and minority applicants for supervisory positions by using focused recruitment and valid assessments while following the merit principles."

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Interior buys into saving energy

11-19-09

The Department of the Interior has reduced its energy consumption by over 20 percent in the last 6 years. The Bureau of Land Management's innovative use of a bureau-wide Energy Savings Performance Contract motivated other bureaus to explore similar funding approaches. Its success has garnered it a Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management. It is one of only six agencies to receive the award. Mary Heying is the Energy Program Manager at the Office of Acquisition and Property Management at DOI. She joins us as part of our Going Green, Winning Gold series.

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