Senate sends Program Management bill to Obama

In today's Top Federal Headlines, Congress sends a bill to the President that supporters say will help the federal government run major projects more efficientl...

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

In today’s Top Federal Headlines, Congress has sent a bill to the President that supporters say will help the federal government run major projects more efficiently.

  • The Senate unanimously re-approved the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act of 2015. It now heads to the White House. The legislation would require agencies to establish a formal career path for program managers. They would also need to appoint a senior executive to be in charge of program management policy and strategy. Supporters say it will help maximize efficiency in the federal government. (Project Management Institute)
  • Two senators want President Barack Obama to institute a hiring freeze during the transition. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said it wouldn’t be fair to hire new people who may not have the same priorities as the new administration. This comes after Johnson told the Office of Personnel Management to be wary of political appointees “burrowing in” to new administration positions. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) also signed Johnson’s letter to the President. (Senator Ron Johnson)
  • Congress is fencing off some of the funds for the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental in the final version of the 2017 defense authorization bill. Lawmakers want the Defense Department to do a study on the program before they will release the money. DIUx was created to help DoD court innovative small businesses. It awarded a dozen contracts in the past year.
  • Congress answered some major questions last week about the future of federal bid protests. A final compromise on this year’s Defense Authorization Bill reinstated the Government Accountability’s Office’s authority to hear civilian agency bid protests involving task orders of more than $10 million, and the new authority would be permanent — assuming the President signs this year’s NDAA. The final deal is a significant change from the bill the Senate proposed earlier this year. GAO’s jurisdiction over task orders from major civilian agency contract vehicles like OASIS and Alliant expired earlier this year. The Senate would have done nothing to change that, and its version of the bill could have eliminated GAO’s jurisdiction over Defense task orders as well. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Defense Security Service has signed off on more than 5,500 plans to develop initial insider threat programs from cleared industry contractors by the Nov. 30 deadline. More than 7,700 senior officials are appointed to implement and oversee their company’s program. DSS said it’s happy with the response it’s received from industry so far. It said it will continue to accept plans and make sure companies are following them. (Federal News Radio)
  • Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency have expressed doubts about standardizing the agency’s financial spending reports. The EPA’s Inspector General said funding and data inconsistencies are the main worries, as it tries to implement the DATA Act by May 2017. EPA said it plans on executing a partial roll out. (Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General)
  • Experts have given President-elect Donald Trump a cyber roadmap for his first 100 days. The President’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity is making 16 recommendations for how President-elect Trump should improve the security of the nation’s computers and systems. The 12-member commission issued its 90-page report to President Barack Obama on Friday. Among the recommendations are for the government to create a cybersecurity training program for federal managers. Another suggestion is for the IT modernization fund to be part of a rolling 10-year strategic investment plan as part of the budget planning process. The commission said each recommendation is designed to have a major impact, and each action item is meant as a concrete step toward achieving that impact. (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
  • A Seattle-based property management company agrees to pay $1.6 million for skimming money from military housing projects. According to the Justice Department, American Management Services was hiding kickbacks it received while paying property insurance fees for military housing at four bases, including Forts Benning and Belvoir. (Department of Justice)
  • Federal agencies collected $83 billion in recent years and Congress wants more oversight of it. The Justice Department brings in most of the fees and penalties $64 billion over five years. Members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee fault it and six other agencies for lack of transparency over how the money is collected and spent. They consider a law to have it all head to a single Treasury account so Congress can oversee how it’s used. (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Related Stories