Wednesday Morning Federal Newscast

Written by Jane Norris & Ruben Gomez Edited by Suzanne Kubota This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED: Security clearances are on track for fast...

Written by Jane Norris & Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Security clearances are on track for faster processing. Despite concerns from the Government Accountability Office and frustration from lawmakers, the head of the Office of Personnel Management said the government is on track to reduce the average length of time required to process security clearance applications by the end of the year.OPM Director John Berry told lawmakers he was optimistic government will meet their mandate to reduce the average processing time for security clearance applications to 60 days by the end of 2009 for 90 percent of all cases.

First came Amazon.com, and now comes Apps.GOV — a cloud storefront for your agencies computing needs. OMB and GSA LAUNCHED the site Tuesday with a host of free and paid tools, like those for social media and the IT Dashboard. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra says the storefront will save money and streamline how IT shops do business. GSA is still looking for vendors to provide services.

The Postal Service takes a big step toward meeting budget this fiscal year. GovExec reports the House has agreed to slash a required payment to the agency’s retiree health fund by $4-Billion dollars. The Post Office faces a projected $7-billion dollar shortfall by September 30th. The bill now goes to the Senate.

New standards are being set for your car’s fuel efficiency. The Department of Transportation and EPA released proposed changes in regulations that increase fuel efficiency standards and require cars and trucks to average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The Administration estimates the changes will add $1300 to the cost of each vehicle , but would save $3000 over the life of the car in better gas mileage.

President Barack Obama is giving his first Medal of Honor to a soldier who sacrificed his life saving a comrade in Afghanistan. The President will award the honor to Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti during a ceremony at the White House Tomorrow. Monti was a native of Raynham, Mass. He previously was awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, five Army Commendation Medals among other honors.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Barack Obama’s top military adviser is supporting an increase in U.S. troop levels for the war in Afghanistan. Mullen said he does not know how many additional troops General McChrystal, the U.S. Commmander in Afghanastan will request, but he left no doubt that McChrystal has concluded that the 21,000 U.S. troops Obama has already approved are not enough to fight growing violence and an enemy that is growing more sophisticated.

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to propose changes on cockpit fatigue, as part of a broader effort to revamp limits on how long commercial pilots can stay behind the controls. The Wall Street Journal reports the FAA wants to replace the current one-size-fits-all rules on pilot workdays with new regs that will take into consideration the latest scientific research on sleep. The new guidelines being considered would consider pilots’ schedules, the number of takeoffs and the body clocks of crew members plus the time of day of the flights.

More news links

EXCLUSIVE: White House collects Web users’ data without notice (WashingtonTimes)

Important Notice: Temporary InsideNPS Data Entry Interruption (NPS Digest)

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. envoys hesitate to report bad news (WashingtonTimes)

Smithsonian reviews policy after rental ‘mistake’

Obama supports extending Patriot Act provisions

Air Force to issue draft request for new tankers soon (GovExec)

BAE Systems names new executive Vp (UPI)

NY dad told soldier-son killed in war _ he wasn’t

Shot Postal Worker Thrilled To Resume Route (TheIndyChannel.com)

Indians ask Supreme Court if ‘Redskins’ offends

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