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Friday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Phil Vogel Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: The Senate passed a Tobacco regulation bill yesterday by a wi...

Federal News Network Staff

June 12, 2009 8:04 am

3 min read

Written by Phil Vogel
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

The Senate passed a Tobacco regulation bill yesterday by a wide margin (79-17). More importantly for Federal workers was the absence of an amendment that would have allowed federal employees under the FERS system to to use sick leave credit as part of their retirement. A spokesman from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office said that the house is likely to simply accept the version of the bill passed by the Senate. The good news is that there are still some TSP reforms in the Senate version, including the ability to use a Roth 401(k) option.

The IRS may need to audit it self. The service was given $41 million dollars to develop a new system to allow agency employees faster access to tax information. However, NextGov reports the Inspector General released a report this week that said the IRS has not kept proper records of the spent money. The IG cited lack of controls over how the funding was allocated as the primary reason for the shortfalls.

The Transportation Security Administration has named Emma Garrison-Alexander as its chief information officer, according to FederalComputerWeek. Garrison-Alexander is a former senior official at the National Security Agency dealing with counterterrorism for signals intelligence development. The TSA’s Office of Information Technology has a budget of around $400 million dollars and its mission includes the security of airports, seaports, and mass transit facilities.

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved legislation that would allow VA health care programs to be funded a year in advance. The reason for this, says the FederalTimes, is that Congress has failed in past sessions to pass the VA spending bill in time for the beginning of the fiscal year, October 1st. The legislation would enable VA to avoid a disruption in services because of the future funding. The Senate VA committee approved a similar bill in May but has not considered it on the Senate floor.

The Obama administration has all but abandoned plans to allow released and cleared Guantanamo Bay detainees to live in the United States. The decision that reflects bipartisan congressional opposition to admitting the detainees but complicates efforts to persuade European allies to accept them. 4 detainees who are Chinese muslims were released this week are are settling in Bermuda, where they will become foreign guest workers. However, this does not prevent the prisoners for being tried in the US.

President Barack Obama plans to fire the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs amid a controversy between the IG and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. The President sent a letter to Congress stating that he had lost confidence in the IG. Gerald Walpin was in question over accusations he made about the Sacramento Mayor during the campaign.

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