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Tuesday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Ruben Gomez Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: Federal agents are going to Afghanistan in hopes of curbing ...

Federal News Network Staff

March 31, 2009 8:27 am

2 min read

Written by Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Federal agents are going to Afghanistan in hopes of curbing the drug trade. About 70 drug enforcement agents will travel to that country. U.S. authorities say the goal is to disrupt networks for terrorist financing.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is asking for more money, but not for the Pentagon, for the State Department. Federal Times reports that Gates called Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad at home to make sure the 2010 budget includes increased funding for State. Conrad says the move is quite unusual, but Gates says the money is essential to missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The president’s nominee for FAA administrator is drawing praise from both industry and government circles. President Obama formally nominated Randy Babbitt yesterday, and Government Executive reports that he’s well-respected for his experience. Babbit is a former airline pilot and CEO of the Airline Pilots Association. He also served under President Bush on the FAA Management Advisory Council. Right now, Babbit is a partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman. There, he helps airlines and unions with mergers and restructuring.

Newly minted Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is calling on Census volunteers to boost outreach efforts. He says the goal is to build trust in immigrant communities, where people often mistake census workers for tax collectors or law enforcement. For that reason, immigrant communities are typically hard-to-count. And they present problems for census accuracy.

The Government Accountability Office is asking for your help to root out fraud and abuse in stimulus spending. The watchdog agency is asking citizens, government workers and contractors to report problems using its FraudNet e-mail, phone and fax system. You can remain anonymous. The email address is fraudnet@gao.gov.