Monday Morning Federal Newstand

Written by Phil Vogel
Edited by Emily Jarvis

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

A Pay raise for federal workers is on the way. The House has passed a 2 percent pay raise for federal workers next year as part of the 2010 financial services spending bill. But the Senate’s version includes a 2.9 percent increase. The Senate has not yet voted, but either way a pay raise is on the way.

The Veterans Affairs Department is putting 45 information technology projects on hold while it figures out how to get them back on track. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki says the agency will evaluate the projects,which are estimated to cost around $200 million dollars this fiscal year. 26 of the projects are considered high risk by OMB’s IT Dashboard.

Lockheed Martin Corporation will provide logistics management services for the Army’s AH-64 Apache helicopter under a one-year, contract worth as much as $89 million dollars, according to a Washington technology report. Lockheed Martin has held the performance based logistics contract since 2007.

The Defense Business Board is preparing a report for the Secretary of Defense suggesting that the Pentagon needs to improve communication with defense contractors. The topic of defense-industrial communication was the subject of a task force report, and they have said that communication between the customer and the supplier base was limited and infrequent. The report is being created from interviews with leaders of large, medium and small companies that do business with the Pentagon, federally funded research groups and other stakeholders. Their findings should give pause to any fed dependent on a DoD contractor for their program or any contractor whose business survival is dependent on the Pentagon.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will announce today that his department is temporarily suspending the filing of new uranium mining claims on about 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon. The land is being closed for two years so that the department can study whether it should be permanently withdrawn from mining activity. The announcement comes ahead of Tuesday’s congressional hearing on a bill to set aside more than 1 million acres of federal lands north and south of the canyon.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. And for the occasion new NASA photos have been released. For the first time, photos from space pinpoint equipment left behind from Apollo landings, and even the well-worn tracks made by astronauts on the moon surface. The images are from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which was launched last month and now circles the moon in search of future landing sites. NASA landed on the moon six times, but the orbital camera so far has only photographed five of the landing sites.

President Barack Obama’s advisers are urging critics of their health care overhaul to wait for Congress to finish writing legislation before issuing verdicts. Paying for the health care plan remains the major challenge, underscored by a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report that emerging House legislation would increase deficits by $239 billion over a decade. The United States is the only developed nation that does not have a comprehensive national health care plan for all its citizens. However, the recession and a deepening budget deficit have made it difficult to win support for costly new programs.

Other Stories We’re Following

Pentagon Seeks Prison Overhaul in Afghanistan

Food Stamps, Now Paperless, Are Getting Easier to Use at Farmers’ Markets

Soldier held in Afghanistan is 23-year-old Idahoan

Official: 5 plans revamp health care, none final

GSA inks deal to provide advanced cybersecurity tools

Postal unions seek White House help on pay, benefits

Federal managers rate the Recovery Act

FedEx and UPS Clash Over Legislation

F-22 Vote Tests Obama’s Veto Threat

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