Countdown: Buyouts hit USDA, Chinese hackers strike

Jason Miller and Francis Rose go over this week\'s top federal stories

Today’s Federal News Countdown guest is:
Jason Miller, Executive Editor, Federal News Radio

Francis Rose’s stories
#3 Construction industry glad to follow the federal LEED
From Federal News Radio:

The Federal Acquisition Regulations Council has issued a rule mandating the greening of federal procurements. That means agency buyers have to specify energy saving or recycled products whenever possible.

#2 Hackers target Gmail accounts of US officials
From Federal News Radio:

Google says Chinese hackers attempted to take over email accounts of senior U.S. officials and hundreds of other prominent people. The targets were tricked into sharing their Gmail passwords with so-called bad actors in China. The tricksters wanted to monitor the content of the email. Google’s servers were not hacked, the company says.

#1 IT is DHS’s next challenge for better intel sharing
From Federal News Radio:

Department of Homeland Security officials told Congress that the agency’s various components have made large strides in sharing intelligence information both with one another and with agencies outside the department. The next big challenge is getting their IT systems to do the same.

Jason Miller’s stories
#3 Army acquisition chief to resign
From Federal News Radio:

Malcolm O’Neill, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisitions, logistics and technology will resign his post “as soon as possible,” he announced in an email Tuesday night. Without elaborating, O’Neill wrote in a message to the Army acquisition community that his resignation was for personal reasons, and that he would work with Army Secretary John McHugh and Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, logistics and technology, to ensure a smooth transition.

#2 VA, DoD to test initial joint e-health record in July
From Federal News Radio:

Defense and Veterans Affairs department officials will meet June 23 to approve a major step in a four-to-six year marathon to have a joint electronic health record. Secretaries Robert Gates and Eric Shinseki, of DoD and VA respectively, will review the plans to implement the initial part of the EHR at a joint medical facility in Chicago.

VA and DoD co-developed a new graphical user interface (GUI) that will bring together data from both agency’s systems.

#1 USDA announces first cabinet-level buyouts
From Federal News Radio:

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission, portions of Air Force Materiel Command, the U.S. Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution authorized or announced a limited number of buyouts to employees.

Agriculture is the first cabinet-level operation to join the buyout parade. The open window dates for the Ag buyout/early out and employees who will get the offers will be announced shortly.

Audio will be posted shortly

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