Monday Morning Federal Newstand

Written by Ruben Gomez, Jane Norris and Tom Temin Edited by Emily Jarvis This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: Senate lawmakers look to reorganize...

Written by Ruben Gomez, Jane Norris and Tom Temin
Edited by Emily Jarvis

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Senate lawmakers look to reorganize the Pentagon. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee want to eliminate 23 deputy undersecretary positions. Government Executive reports the proposal would consolidate their job duties under six new assistant secretary positions. The move is designed to streamline DoD’s management structure.

Defense contractor KBR won’t be doing any work in Afghanistan. Government Executive reports that company lost a lucrative pair of task orders for logistical support. The contracts could be worth up to $15 billion dollars and instead went to Dyn Corp International and Fluor Intercontinental. KBR has a spotted record in Iraq, and at least one lawmaker thinks the firm’s past performance is finally coming to haunt them.

Lifting a burden from the Postal Service. A House panel has approved a measure would save the agency 2.3 billion dollars this year in health care costs. If the bill passes the full House, USPS could pay for today’s health care premiums using a trust fund set aside for future retirees. The Postal Service faces a potential $6 billion dollar shortfall this year.

Too many contractors could short circuit border security. More than 5-in-10 of those working on the program are contractors. The IG says they’re performing jobs that should be done by government employees.

An overhauled federal program will allow local and state law enforcement officials to arrest and deport immigrants who commit serious crimes. The Homeland Security Department said Friday that immigrants with major drug offenses or violent offenses such as murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery or kidnapping are the top priority. The agency also instituted a complaint process. All officers will be bound by civil rights regulations.

The Department of Veterans affairs backlog of disability claims tops 400,000 that’s up from 253,000 six years ago. The department says that processing a claim takes about 162 days. The department has hired 4,200 new processors to speed up the claims process but they will not be fully trained for months.

The job market is still struggling, but the White House says positions in health care and environment are bucking the trend. Details expected today in a report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers. That group predicts growth in construction and manufacturing as the stimulus plan kicks in. That report will be discussed on WhiteHouse.gov and Facebook this afternoon at 2:30.

Other Stories We’re Following Pace of stimulus contracting picks up

Down for the Count

GOP Leaving ‘No Child’ Behind

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