Federal Drive

Friday Morning Federal Newscast

Friday morning\'s news stories heard on the air include: a change in the LTC sign ups, the military pay raise, NSPS, a new federal agency is being created and p...

Federal News Network Staff

October 23, 2009 8:13 am

2 min read

Written by Tom Temin & Ruben Gomez
Edited by Suzanne Kubota

This morning’s federal news as heard on WFED:

Responding to a big hike in prices for long term care insurance, the Office of Personnel Management said it will give federal employees two extra months to make changes to their coverage. The new deadlines is Feb. 15, 2010. OPM signed a new contract with John Hancock Life and Health Insurance, and it included premium hikes of up to 25 percent for federal employees who thought they had been buying fixed price policies.

If President Obama signs the military authorization bill the Senate sent him yesterday, members of the military will get a 3.4 percent raise. That’s more than the president asked for. The law also lets workers under the Federal Employees Retirement System count unused sick leave towards their retirements. And it allows federal retirees to come back to work for limited periods without having to take cuts in their annuities. The bill also kills a controversial rating system for non-union Defense Department civilian workers.

The money clock is ticking, but lawmakers are working on another stopgap bill to keep your agency running. Congress Daily reports the House and Senate could vote next week on a continuing resolution that would fund agencies thru mid-December. So far, Congress has approved only four of 12 permanent spending bills for fiscal 2010. The temporary measure that’s in place now expires next week — on October 31st.

The House Financial Services Committee yesterday voted to create a new federal agency to oversee consumer credit cards, mortgages and savings accounts. And in a slap to the credit card industry, the panel voted to move up by two months the effective date of strict new rules on credit card practices. The rules had been scheduled to take effect next February, but now it will be December 1 – just in time for Christmas. But the full House and Senate still have to vote on the legislation.

Remember that huge and expensive new American embassy in Baghdad? It cost $730 million dollars and was occupied in 2008. Now the State Department’s inspector general says the government should demand 20 percent of that money back in a rebate from the company that built the embassy. That’s because the building is rife with shoddy work, especially in the electrical and plumbing systems. The IG said the State Department didn’t do enough oversight of work on the fortified, 104-acre compound.

More news links

Bill giving FDA new powers to oversee food supply has wide support (Los Angeles Times)

Minority lawmakers: No census citizenship question

F-16 jettisons bombs at Hill AFB; no injuries

Zoom! Littoral warship Independence tops out at more than 50 mph