Wednesday federal headlines – August 5, 2015

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive and In Depth radio shows. 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.

• Victims from the second OPM data breach are another step closer to credit and identity protections. Requests for quotes are out from the General Services Administration and Naval Sea Systems Command. The deadline to submit bids for the first task order and blanket purchase agreement is Aug. 14. Awards will likely go out Aug. 21. (Federal News Radio)

• The Government Accountability Office finds significant problems with the outcome of a 2012 audit of the Marine Corps’ financial statements. GAO said the Defense Department’s inspector general was too eager to issue a clean opinion. The report is a setback on DoD’s path toward full financial auditability. The Marine Corps was supposed to serve as an example for the rest of the department. But the independent auditor says even though the Marines cleaned up their own systems, the vast majority of their underlying transactions rely on DoD systems that still haven’t gotten sufficient scrutiny. (GAO)

• Agencies realize a cross-agency priority goal through a pilot program called Feedback USA. The General Services Administration, State Department and the Social Security Administration have teamed up to launch the year-long pilot that sends customer feedback in real-time from federal kiosks and agency websites. State and SSA were chosen as test beds to improve customer service at passport and social security card application locations. GSA’s Acting Administrator Denise Turner Roth said the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technology will provide data analytic support and procure kiosks and software to analyze and transmit the anonymous feedback received. (GSA)

• The Office of Personnel Management attempts to bring parity to men’s and women’s salaries. New guidance issued gives agencies more flexibility to set pay levels for incoming employees and encourages agencies to study gender-related pay disparities. OPM recommends agencies conduct ongoing internal analysis to identify where pay inequality exists and to measure progress on closing the gender pay gap. This guidance follows OPM’s April report, “Governmentwide Strategy on Advancing Pay Equality in the Federal Government.” (CHCOC)

• George Mulligan is the new, and first, chief operating officer for the Secret Service. Director Joseph Clancy announced Mulligan’s appointment Tuesday. Mulligan joins the Secret Service after spending his entire career with the military. He served in several senior executive positions at the Pentagon, including chief of staff to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. He was also deputy director of Washington Headquarters Services and director of enterprise management. Mulligan also served as the director of the White House Military Office, where he worked closely with the Secret Service. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he’d create this COO position back in March. It was a recommendation of the independent panel to reform the Secret Service. In his new role, Mulligan will focus on improving performance, directing coordination and liaison activities, and aligning budgetary and strategic planning efforts.  (Secret Service)

• Three high-ranking Defense Department nominees made it out of committee on their way toward confirmation. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nominations of Gen. Mark Milley to be Chief of Staff of the Army. Adm. John Richardson to be Chief of Naval Operations, and Lt. Gen. Robert Neller to be General and Commandant of the Marine Corps. Milley told the committee at his nomination hearing the Army’s drawdown is putting it at a higher risk to meet an expanding mission. Neller would lead the Marines Corps after serving as a commander in Iraq’s western province during one of the most violent periods of the war. Richardson would move from his current position as director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The full Senate must still vote on their nominations.

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