Obama cabinet member illegally mixes politics with official duties

In today's Top Federal Headlines a member of President Obama's cabinet violated the Hatch Act, and the Pentagon is trying a new approach to social media monitor...

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on  Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

  • Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro violated the Hatch Act. That’s the finding by the Office of Special Counsel, which it sent to President Barack Obama. OCS investigators discovered the offense took place in April, during an interview by Katie Couric for Yahoo News. Castro praised Hillary Clinton and criticized Republicans after saying he was taking off his HUD hat. Castro has acknowledged the error. (Office of Special Counsel)
  • Members of the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program could see their premiums rise a significant amount. The Office of Personnel Management warned the rate hikes would range anywhere from 1 percent to 126 percent. Members can choose to reduce their coverage in order to maintain their current premium. The new premiums take effect Nov. 1. (Federal News Radio)
  • Federal employees facing a blackout period on flexible spending reimbursements are getting a safety net. The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund is offering no-interest loans for FSAFEDS members who need financial aid next month. A vendor changeover requires a hold on reimbursement claims for August. (Federal News Radio)
  • Agencies should start updating their standard Freedom of Information Act response letters and notices. The Justice Department released its first guidance on implementing changes under the FOIA Improvement Act. It said agencies should make sure requesters know about their rights to get help from the FOIA Public Liaison Office if they receive an adverse decision or the request takes longer than the standard 10 days. President Barack Obama signed the new bill into law last month to mark the 50th anniversary of FOIA. (Justice Department)
  • The White House is asking agencies for new open government initiatives for the next two years. It’s part of how the administration wants version four of the open government plans to continue the transparency effort after President Barack Obama leaves office next year. The White House directed agencies in a new memo to identify projects around everything from proactive disclosures to open source software to publishing spending data as required by the DATA Act. Agencies have until Sept. 15 to make their new open government plans available online. (The White House)
  • The Pentagon is trying a new approach to monitoring the social media activity of Defense Intelligence Agency employees. The trial run will set up planned 12 month social media checks as opposed to screening staff every five years, which is the current method. Potential vendors would need to highlight specific data points to set up social media reports. (FedBizOpps)
  • The Air Force’s Space Command said it’s reorganizing itself around a new Space Mission Force. Virtually everything the U.S. military does rests to some degree on satellites orbiting the earth. Space Command said it’s responding to the fact that potential enemies have designs on degrading those capabilities. In a new white paper, Gen. John Hyten said his command will boost training so crews in charge of space missions can better defend U.S. satellites from attack. Those training events will be focused on countering what the military envisions will be a “thinking adversary” they also aim to prepare Air Force space crews to cut off other countries’ space capabilities in the event of war. (Air Force Space Command)
  • The Defense Department chief information officer is heading to the West Coast with key U.S. allies. They’ll visit some of the top tech companies in Seattle and Silicon Valley. Officials from the United Kingdom, Germany and NATO are among those joining DoD CIO Terry Halverson. The trip will focus on improving technologies such as communications and cloud services. (Department of Defense)
  • The geospatial-intelligence industry is one area where innovations are always being made, so the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Reconnaissance Office are collaborating to better monitor them. The Commercial GEOINT Activity will help both agencies assess current capabilities and develop strategies for using new technology. (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)

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