Thursday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Phil Vogel
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Changes to your Thrift Savings Plan advance again in Congress. The Senate voted yesterday to end debate on the Tobacco bill that contains provisions for the TSP. Included is a the ability to choose a Roth 401(k) option and automatic enrollment for new federal workers, but the bill does not contain a proposed provision to let federal employees count unused sick leave toward retirement annuities. The Senate is expected to vote on it Friday.

Cell phones and BlackBerries are as much a part of a federal employee’s life as are traffic jams in the Nation’s Capital, but those mobile devices could be the latest rising threat to national cybersecurity. On Capitol Hill, technology officials are warning Congress about the vulnerabilities of wireless internet devices to cyberattacks. NextGov reports they say that often manufacturers avoid using strong security software because of the limited battery power in these devices.

The National Archives has named the first Freedom of Information Act Ombudsman. Miriam Nisbet will be the mediator between people who request data and the agencies that have it. Currently she works for the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris. Her time working for the National Archives will begin in September. The ombudsman position was created as part of the Open Government Act of 2007.

The new Special Master for Compensation is going to be endowed with broad authority over executive pay. He will be able to review, reject and even set pay levels with no appeal process in place. Not all companies fall under his power, only those that received exceptional assistance from the federal government. The administration cites the need to protect tax payers money as the rationale for such broad power.

Jeffrey Zients is the nominee for the governments first Chief Performance Office. During a hearing Wednesday, he said that agencies must reduce the amount of time between an employee retiring and the hiring of a replacement. This is especially relevant with the Baby Boomer generation nearing retirement age. He is says that performance-based pay systems are critical to improving government work.

The U.S. Embassy says one of five American contractors detained in Iraq has been released. An US embassy official says the man was released late Wednesday on bond. The contractors were detained by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces during an investigation into the slaying of another American contractor. An Iraqi government spokesman has said that all five would be released. The case has been seen as the first test of a provision in a U.S.-Iraqi security pact that lifted the immunity U.S. contractors had enjoyed for most of the 6-year-old war.

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