Senate bill aims to rein in IRS on asset forfeitures

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, Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduce legislation to make it harder for the IRS to seize property from suspected criminals.

• Two senators want to keep the IRS in check when it comes to asset forfeitures. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced a bill which would require the tax agency to show probable cause that funds were “derived from an illegal source or connected to other criminal activity,” before seizing assets. A similar bill was passed in the House last week. (Sen. Tim Scott)

• The Defense Department plans to request a supplemental war budget from Congress this November. Secretary Ash Carter said the funds would be used to fight the Islamic State and for troops the United States is leaving in Afghanistan in 2017. Carter said brass are still debating the size of the request. (Federal News Radio)

• The Senate votes today on the first veto override for President Barack Obama letting private citizens sue the Saudi government for the 9/11 attacks. Obama vetoed the bill partly for Defense Department concerns over how it might affect service members overseas. Secretary Ash Carter said other countries might respond with lawsuits against the U.S. government or individual servicemembers. He worries discovery demands could snare sensitive data. Plus, the Pentagon believes it would need to provide legal defense for servicemembers in foreign courts. (Associated Press)

• The Navy releases information on its transition to the Blended Retirement System. Sailors currently serving will be grandfathered into the the current system, but active duty sailors with less than 12 years of service can opt in to the BRS if they’d like. All service members will also be required to complete online training courses on the system. (Navy)

• The Homeland Security Department reports progress on its automated information sharing network. 40 companies and 10 agencies have hooked up. One company is both receiving cyber threat indicator information and sharing it with the department. Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications Andy Ozment said he’s happy with the number of entities on the network so far. DHS set up the network under a provision of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. (Federal News Radio)

• Vendors push back against a White House executive order. Six industry associations are asking the government to delay the implementation of new rules around safe workplaces and fair pay for at least a year. The Coalition of Defense and Space Industry Associations said the government is not prepared to implement the final rule issued last August. The associations are asking the FAR Council to begin phase-in starting Oct. 25, 2017 for contracts worth more than $50 million. Then the associations would like the delay to extend into 2018 for other parts of the rule. (Federal News Radio)

• New guidance from the Merit Systems Protection Board aims to help federal agencies gauge how well their adhering to the Merit System Principles. MSPB said the new report will also provide recommendations to improve education of the principles. The board said its surveys show many federal employees think agencies need to improve how well they support the MSP’s. (Merit Systems Protection Board)

• Only weeks to the election, so management needs a reminder on what not to do. Federal employees may not do politics while on duty or they’ll violate the hatch act. That means no advocating for candidates or distributing or displaying materials in the office. You can donate but fundraising is never allowed. A Commerce supervisor starts a 50-day, unpaid suspension for doing political party work from his office after being counseled to avoid it. (Office of Special Counsel)

• Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin is leaving. No word yet on where Carlin will be going after his career at the Justice Department. Carlin said the department and the FBI have since changed their approach in finding and responding to cyber adversaries. Carlin also served as chief of staff to former FBI director Robert Mueller. (Department of Justice)

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