Monday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

The White House is setting up incentives for agencies to cut wasteful spending. In his weekly address, President Obama said agencies will keep part of the savings they identify. They can then reinvest the money in “programs that work.” The President says the goal is a smaller budget and more effective government.

The President is calling on rank-and-file federal workers to help him trim the budget. He says the White House will create a process to allow all government workers to make money-saving suggestions. Later this year, he’ll meet with those who made the best suggestions.

The Pentagon gets a new acquisition chief. The Senate has confirmed Ashton Carter for that job. His confirmation had been delayed. Two Republican senators had concerns over competition for new aerial refueling tankers. They lifted their holds after Carter and Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged to a fair and open bidding process.

Defense procurement reform takes center stage in the House today. House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton introduces a new bill to rein in spending. The measure comes with a slew of new regulations and oversight requirements. It’s similar to a Senate bill introduced earlier this month.

Federal agencies can soon expect another round of rules on stimulus spending. The White House plans to issue them in May. They’ll touch on reporting, administrative costs and single audits. The rules will come after spending concerns raised by federal, state and local government officials.

Systems maintenance is sapping the bank account at Social Security. A new report from the Social Security Advisory Board says the agency is spending 70 percent of its IT budget to keep computers running. That’s about $340 million dollars in 2008. Social Security received $1 billion dollars from the Recovery Act to build a new computer data center.

Other Stories We’re Watching:

Advice to Federal Employees and Agencies on Preventing the Spread of the Current Flu and Maintaining Readiness to Use HR Flexibilities if Necessary (OPM memo)

Obama’s Monday: Day of sports, science, economics

Seasonal vaccine no help against swine flu

Reactor at oldest US nuclear plant is shut down

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.