VA may ask for more hiring freeze exemptions

In today's Top Federal Headlines, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is looking at what jobs the agency needs to be able to continue to hire in so he can ...

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In today’s Top Federal Headlines, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is looking at what jobs the agency needs to be able to continue to hire in so he can ask the White House for more exemptions.

  • The Veterans Affairs Department may soon ask for more exemptions to President Donald Trump’s hiring freeze. Secretary David Shulkin said he’s looking case-by-case at jobs which interact with patient safety, veterans’ cemeteries, or hospitals. Some jobs at the Veterans Benefits Administration are in that position. Shulkin said a few hundred more positions could get exemptions. (Associated Press)
  • Top Republican lawmakers are tearing into President Trump’s $603 billion defense budget for 2018. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said it’s only a 3 percent increase over what President Obama suggested for 2018. Defense hawks want a $640 billion budget. (Federal News Radio)
  • Today’s the due date for the Pentagon to turn in a report on how it’ll pull off the biggest change in its organizational structure in more than 30 years. The Defense authorization bill Congress passed in December ordered the department to do away with its third-highest ranking position — the undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, and split it into two offices, including a new post to focus exclusively on research and engineering. Congress left the details of how to manage the restructuring to DoD’s own acquisition leaders, but so far, none of those posts have been filled by the Trump administration. One more challenge: DoD’s entire acquisition workforce is short-staffed because of a governmentwide hiring freeze. (Federal News Radio)
  • Federal finance officials said a 10 percent drop in non-defense discretionary spending could mean cuts to the government workforce. The $54 billion cut will have a unique impact for each civilian agency. For smaller departments, though, it could mean a freeze on new hires and workforce training. The top line number for the non-defense budget is $462 billion.
  • Two agencies could see massive cuts if the President’s budget is enacted. Officials familiar with it said Trump’s proposal would slash 37 percent of the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development’s budgets. Both agencies received slightly over $50 billion during the current fiscal year. Officials said a cut that large would probably mean staff reductions. (Associated Press)
  • Dan Coats sails through his nomination hearing to be the next Director of National Intelligence. While cybersecurity is his top priority, Coats also said he’ll lead a review of the intelligence community’s missions and programs. Coats wants to see how the IC can be more efficient and effective and streamline operations. (Federal News Radio)
  • GSA and the Navy have signed another MOU to improve the service’s acquisition efforts. The Department of the Navy is more fully committing to use the government’s reverse auction platform. The DoN signed a memorandum of understanding with the General Services Administration yesterday to make broader use of its Reverse Auction eTool. The Navy has been testing out several new reverse auction features from GSA over the last three-plus years. GSA said the Department of the Navy has been the most active user of the reverse auction tool since 2013, spending more than $22 million and saving almost 8 percent over standard pricing on things like office products, equipment and commodity services. (General Services Administration)
  • The House Veterans Affairs Committee introduces a new accountability bill for VA employees. The legislation lets the VA secretary fire, demote or suspend any employee for poor performance or misconduct. Employees can still appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board. But employees won’t receive pay, benefits and or bonuses during the 45-day appeal period. VA Secretary Shulkin said the committee will mark up the bill March 8, with the goal of bringing it to the floor March 14. (Federal News Radio)
  • The Census Bureau proposes a new classification system for citizens to use in the 2020 count. Officials suggest a Middle-Eastern or North-African self-designation. And for reworking the Hispanic designation. This stems from the bureau’s 2015 National Content Test, for establishing the 2020 questionnaire. Congress must approve the new form next year. Bureau officials said their aim is a more accurate picture of the United States. Researchers Nicholas Jones and Michael Bentley outline the plans in a video. (U.S. Census Bureau)

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