Federal Drive

Friday Morning Federal Newsstand

Written by Jane Norris and Phil Vogel Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: Federal Employees may be feeling a lot sicker...

Federal News Network Staff

July 24, 2009 8:22 am

2 min read

Written by Jane Norris and Phil Vogel
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Federal Employees may be feeling a lot sicker soon, especially those under the Federal Employee Retirement System. An amendment in the Defense Authorization bill that would have allowed FERS employees to credit unused sick leave and other benefits was withdrawn. The reason? GovExec reports protests from Senator Tom Coburn, R-Okla., that the amendment would increase benefits to public employees when the deficit is ballooning and many Americans are unemployed.

The Federal Reserve wants to make you a better financial shopper. The Wall Street Journal reports the agency is proposing new consumer protections for mortgages and consumer based loans that would warn buyers about the risks involved in balloon payments and adjustable rate mortgages. The move comes as Congress talks about creating a new agency and to oversee Consumer lending and complaints that the Federal Reserve failed to act quickly enough to help consumers in the past.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad may be cutting employees. According to a government auditors report and the Washington Post, the embassy is the largest and most costly overseas diplomatic mission. The report says the Embassy will have to be reduced to a size more in keeping with the evolving U.S.-Iraq relationship and budget constraints.

The number of Air Force pilots may soon be reduced. In the decades ahead the Air Force plans to use remotely piloted planes that are used now to gather intelligence and fire missiles. The New York Times reports the Air Force wants to build larger drones that could be used as unmanned bombers and cargo planes and some small enough to spy inside buildings, according the New York Times.

The F-35 Joint strike fighter program is two years behind schedule. Congressional Quarterly reports the news of the F-35 delay comes on heels of debate about building additional F-22 warplanes. The administration fought to end production of the F-22 as members of Congress sought to keep the funding. Now Senators and their aids say the news about the delay of the F-35 might have changed their minds about cutting that production.

FEMA is under fire again, this time from their Inspector General. In a new report the IG says the agency took too long to respond to reports of dangerous levels of formaldehyde in trailers delivered to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposing people to possible health risks. The report says one third of the units had formaldehyde problems.

Other Stories We’re Following

National Security Agency Names First Compliance Director (WashingtonPost)

Wanted: Women to eat chocolate for a year (AFP)