Monday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

President Obama is asking federal agencies to lay out specific goals for economic stimulus spending over the next several months. The request comes as part of a renewed emphasis by the President and Vice President Joe Biden on reviving the economy. The president says he wants agency heads to make economic recovery a priority during an expected jump in federal stimulus spending this summer. He discusses his plans today in a meeting with Cabinet members and the vice president.

Poor management and weak oversight are leading to a bleed of taxpayer dollars. That finding comes from the Wartime Contracting Commission in its first report to Congress later this week. The report is expected to say that the military depends on private sector employees but does not have a concrete way of keeping tabs on them. Defense Secretary Gates would like to curb some of these problems by hiring more government employees instead of contractors.

President Obama’s pick to be the intelligence chief at Homeland Security has stepped down. Philip Mudd was being scrutinized for his role in CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists. Mudd says that he does not want to be a distraction for the President. This is the second Obama intelligence nominee to step down because of possible links to the interrogations that took place under President Bush. In November, the president’s nominee to be CIA director stepped down as well. Mudd’s replacement has not yet been named.

President Barack Obama’s pick to oversee the nation’s forests has withdrawn his nomination. Homer Lee Wilkes was nominated on May 5 as undersecretary of agriculture, a position that would have put him in charge of the U.S. Forest Service and the National Resource Conservation Service. The White House never sent his nomination to the Senate.

Cloud computing is at risk of a meltdown similar to the one the banking industry is facing. Forbes reports a researcher for the the National Institute of Standards and Technology says the danger lies in putting information into one single central repository run by private companies looking out for their bottom line before considering security. He says the pursuit of profit might lead them to make risky business decisions, thereby endangering the information in their clouds.

Later this month GSA will begin holding public meetings about counterfeit technology. This is in response to a December Bureau of Industry and Security report that discovered some 473 counterfeit electronics being used by the private sector. The discussions will focus on the dangers of harmful technology.

The Obama Administration has released a new strategy for the War on Drugs. The new focus will be on using new technology to stop illegal drugs from being imported. They administration will also look to gain information about drug-dealing networks. They hope to achieve their goals by boosting international cooperation.

Other Stories We’re Following

Race still a factor in DoD pay raises (FederalTimes)

Iraqi Security Forces Arrest Five American Civilians (WashingtonPost)

After Investigation, State Department Historian Marc Susser Is Reassigned (WashingtonPost)

GAO: IRS halts development of Customer Account Data Engine (GCN)

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of JPL Employees Regarding Intrusive Background Investigations (SpaceRef press release)

Canadians angered over “Buy American” rule (Reuters)

20K people outside US got Obama speech texts

Justice Dept. lawyers sought interrogation limits

Military spouses seek residency benefits

New Orleans mayor, wife quarantined in China

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