Thursday federal headlines – September 3, 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.

• 867,000 veterans have pending applications to get health care from the Veterans Affairs Department. But the VA’s inspector general isn’t sure how many veterans are still looking for health care. The IG says more than half of the applications do not have dates associated with them. And one-third of the nearly 900,000 veterans with pending applications have likely died years ago. VA employees may have deleted at least 10,000 transactions over the past five years. The IG says the VA didn’t manage its application backlog and the Health Eligibility Center system has major information security problems. The report is based on a whistleblower’s allegations about mismanagement at the VA HEC. (Federal News Radio/VA)

• The top acquisition officer for the Defense Department tries to soothe industry’s fears about new research and development rules. Frank Kendall says the Pentagon will require a brief before authorizing funding for independent research proposals. The clarification may calm some in industry who thought DoD would be conducting a full review on new research projects. The department says it’s adding the new requirement to make sure vendors are creating new technologies and not just reducing product costs. (Federal News Radio)

• The General Services Administration and the Pentagon are looking into the possibility of combining their efforts to set up a new multi-award contract dedicated to commercial cloud computing. Nothing is final yet, but the agencies think it’s possible that a consolidated contract vehicle would reduce agencies’ costs for cloud services and simplify the acquisition process. GSA says it’s still trying to determine whether cloud is a distinct-enough market to justify a new governmentwide purchasing vehicle. DISA and GSA have collaborated on multiple-award contracts in the recent past including a contract for commercial satellite communication which cut federal agencies costs for commercial SATCOM by about 34 percent. (Federal News Radio)

• Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) says federal agencies don’t get the “gig” economy. Agencies are collecting jobs and tax data based on an old-fashioned and increasingly rare definition of work as more people turn to freelancing, part-time jobs and independent contracting to earn a living. Warner has asked the Treasury, Commerce and Labor department what they can do to improve data collection in a way that helps both the executive branch and Congress understand the way people work today. The Government Accountability Office says up to a third of U-S workers hold other than full-time jobs. But it says the Labor Department has not done a detailed survey on the trend since 2005. (Sen. Mark Warner)

• A federal judge wants to fast-track a legal challenge to the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of data on Americans’ phone calls. The NSA program is set to expire at the end of November. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon says the program is likely unconstitutional. He will not let the Obama administration use legal maneuvers to “run out the clock” on the suit, which challenges the Patriot Act. Leon has scheduled another hearing for as early as next week. He told the lawyers not to go on any vacations between now and the end of November.

• General Atomics Aeronautical Systems pays nearly $1 million in back wages to about 900 employees across the country. The Labor Department finds the contractor didn’t pay some of its employees according to prevailing Labor Department wage rates based on their locations. General Atomics pays some employees wages for the area they were based, not where they worked. The company’s time-attendance system kept track of an employee’s job and hours, but not site location. General Atomics is under contract with the Air Force. The Labor Department says the company is compiling with the department’s decision. Some General Atomics employees will get back wages for up to a six year period. (Labor Department)

• President Barack Obama’s trip to Alaska proved eventful for the Denali Commission after he gave the agency a new role for combating climate change. Gov Exec reports the Denali Commission will now work with state, local and tribal agencies to reduce climate change impact on 31 communities across Alaska. The agency’s new responsibilities include developing efforts for protecting communities and handing out grants to power plants across the state. President Obama is asking congress for $14 million in fiscal 2016 to fund the agency’s new mission. The announcement comes during the president’s tour across Alaska to raise awareness for climate change and environmental protection. (Gov Exec)

• The Justice Department is finally coming around to using the government-wide Freedom of Information Act portal. Justice announces, starting in early fiscal 2016, that its Office of Information policy will begin using FOIA Online as its case management system.  OIP will use FOIA Online to track requests it processes and the department’s administrative FOIA appeals as well as preparing and validating the department’s annual FOIA report. DoJ has been working with FOIA Online’s managing partner, the Environmental Protection Agency, to enhance the portal to meet its specific needs. Currently, 11 agencies use FOIA Online to process and track information requests. (Justice Department)

• All of the Homeland Security Department’s research and development efforts will now come with new integrated product teams. Secretary Jeh Johnson says these IPTs will coordinate and prioritize research and development across several areas, including aviation security, biological threats, counterterrorism, border security, cybersecurity and disaster resilience. Reggie Brothers, the DHS undersecretary for Science and Technology, will oversee this new approach. Johnson says the IPTs will help DHS better achieve a comprehensive understanding of all its research and development activities and continue to move away from decisions made in stove pipes. (DHS)

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