Monday Morning Federal Newscast – June 20th

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Amy Morris discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air.

• One way the Defense Department plans to save money: cutting back service contracting. The latest version of the Defense authorization bill includes more than a billion dollars in cuts. The move is designed to mirror the hiring freeze now in place for most of DOD’s civilian workforce. The Senate version of the bill also includes buyouts amounting to one year’s salary for officers with anywhere between 20 and 29 years of service.
• Support is growing for programs targeting systemic discrimination at the Department of Agriculture, but one of those programs is drawing some intense scrutiny – from both sides. According to a January internal newsletter for USDA employees, the department’s gay-awareness program has attracted the attention of the Office of Personnel Management as a possible model for other federal agencies. The Washington Times reports critics fear even more gay-oriented training for the military would add an unnecessary burden for combat troops and encourage some to leave. The Center for Military Readiness predicts that training programs similar to the USDA’s LGBT Special Emphasis Program will become a growth industry within the Department of Defense, if or when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban is lifted. The USDA has had a policy against discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation since 1993.
• The Commerce Department is changing the way it buys information technology. Simon Szykman, the Commerce Department’s chief information officer, says he wants to centralize the buying structure. Szykman wants to use strategic sourcing for technologies like storage, email and other commonly used technologies. He made a commitment to save Commerce $50 million next year by using strategic sourcing.
• Medicare says it is cracking down on fraud. They plan to use technology similar to what credit card companies use to screen claims for fraud. The technology upgrade will help detect abuses, like a small clinic that suddenly starts billing more for a particular outpatient procedure. Medicare has awarded a contract worth up to $77 million to Northrop Grumman and a group of companies for the new system. It will begin operating July first.
• NASA’s Langley Research Center has opened its new energy efficient headquarters in Hampton. The $26 million office building is 72,000 square feet and incorporated several environmentally friendly concepts into its design, including a rooftop garden. It is expected to save more than three-and-a-half million dollars a year in energy and maintenance costs. It will hold about 240 employees from six different NASA Langley staffs. It is the first large office building built on the Langley campus in 35 years.
• The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is holding a four-day festival to feature the music, dance, food and art of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma on the National Mall. The festival runs Wednesday through Saturday. Each day begins with traditional dancing, followed by presentations by artisans and storytellers in the museum’s atrium. Short films will be screened each day, featuring Choctaw code talkers of World War I and other stories. Activities for children will include grinding corn, weaving baskets, making clay pots and stringing beads for a necklace. Food demonstrations will be held Wednesday and Saturday. The museum’s Mitsitam CafDe will feature items such as fried rabbit, braised venison and fried salt pork.

More news links

USPS notifies 1,700 employees their jobs will be cut (GovExec)

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Coming up today on In Depth with Francis Rose:

–As the handoff from DoD to diplomats heats up in Iraq, Ambassador Ronald Neumann discusses building American soft power.

–The Causey Award winners have been chosen. You’ll meet a winner who probably won’t surprise you.

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