Army reducing contract extension bonuses tomorrow

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

• Amid budget concerns, the Army will decrease its bonuses for soldiers who extend their contracts by a year from $10,000 to $5,000. A recent Military Personnel message reported by the Army Times said the reduction will happen March 24, with another reevaluation on April 24. The branch has offered this incentive since January. (Army Times)

• President Donald Trump wants thousands of new hires for Border Patrol, but a Customs and Border Protection representative said they can’t fill jobs at the rate agents are leaving. Chris Crane, president of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, told a Senate committee that ICE managers created toxic work environments for rank-and-file employees. (Federal News Radio)

• Some members of Congress said they have called the Veterans Affairs Department themselves to notify it of qualified health care professionals who have applied to work at VA but haven’t heard anything for months. VA said an outdated and inflexible hiring process is the main culprit. The Government Accountability Office said VA doesn’t have enough human resources staff to process qualified candidates more quickly. The Veterans Health Administration has about 45-thousand vacancies. (Federal News Radio)

• The VA’s Office of Inspector General is approved to exempt about half of its open positions from the temporary hiring freeze. IG Michael Missal said most positions are criminal investigators, healthcare inspectors, or auditors looking at big VA projects. Missal said he’ll still have a hard time going forward with original expansion plans. (House Appropriations Committee)

• Former U.S. Chief Information Officer Tony Scott found his next position. Scott will join the Baldrige Foundation Board of Directors next month. The Baldrige Foundation is the private-sector partner of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program in the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Its president and CEO Al Faber said Scott was instrumental in helping develop the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder and future Framework. Scott, who served as CIO for Microsoft and Disney, listed Baldrige’s systems-level approach as one of his reasons for joining. (PRNewswire)

• Support has grown for a new cyber agency at DHS. The House Homeland Security Committee’s plan to create a new agency in the Homeland Security Department that will focus on civilian agency cybersecurity received some powerful support yesterday. Former White House cyber coordinator Michael Daniel and former head of the NSA and US Cyber Command retired General Keith Alexander have thrown their weight behind the idea. Daniel and Alexander told the committee a new agency would provide a more holistic approach to cybersecurity. Committee chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) said he is already working with the White House on a proposal. (House Homeland Security Committee)

• A possible yearlong continuing resolution will stop civilian hiring, halt flying hours and freeze installation maintenance in the Air Force. The service will also be hit with a $1.3 billion deficit if Congress can’t pass a budget for 2017. The Army would be $4 billion. To avoid them, Congress must pass a budget or extend the CR by April 28. (Federal News Radio)

• Two Republican senators sponsored bills to help military families, National Guard members and reservists. Senator Roy Blunt’s (R-Mo.) bill will give families more flexibility for when they move from an assignment location. While Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said his will reimburse National Guard members and reservists traveling to and from their duty locations. (Federal News Radio)

• A former Obama administration official praised one of President Trump’s executive moves. In an interview with Government Executive, former Office of Management and Budget Controller Dave Mader called Trump’s executive order telling agencies to analyze their efforts in preparation for a major reorganization a “really good approach.” Mader, who works at Deloitte Consulting, said he likes the idea because it takes a holistic view of government rather than only singling out certain agencies. Trump’s March 13 EO gave agencies 180 days to submit a plan for reorganization to OMB. (GovExec)

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