Senate Democrats’ last effort to get new FBI headquarters fails

• Last-minute efforts to get the FBI new headquarters have failed. Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected language in a spending measure to revive the idea of a new, consolidated headquarters for the bureau. The amendment would have provided $1.4 billion for the project. The House Appropriations Committee voted down a similar amendment last week. (Senate Appropriations Committee)

• Things are looking bleaker for another round of base alignment and closures. The House passed an amendment to the military construction and veterans affairs appropriations bill to block a new round of BRAC. The Defense Department wants to institute a new round for 2021, which it said could save $2 billion a year.

• Military officers have found themselves in limbo over the Trump administration’s plans to reverse the transgender policy of the Obama administration. Because the president used Twitter to restore the ban on transgender service, Pentagon brass said they haven’t received official notification. In a short statement, Pentagon spokesman Dana White said that without formal word from the White House, the earlier policy remains in effect with no change in status, for now, of transgender people already serving. (Department of Defense)

• The federal government is trying to reduce the 100-odd contracts it has with UPS and FedEx. The Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to end their own contracts with package delivery companies. The administration wants to consolidate federal shipping under a new contract managed by the Defense Department. OMB wants agencies to take advantage of the federal government’s pricing power and give agencies more visibility over their spending on package delivery. The change is expected to save the government $32 million in its first year. (Federal News Radio)

• Contractors looking to do business with the IRS will need to make sure their own taxes are in good standing. IRS chief procurement officer Shanna Webbers said new details will be coming in a future Federal Register notice for companies who might be tax delinquent, but want to do business with the tax agency. (Federal News Radio)

• The House easily rejected an amendment which would have cut 89 federal employees at the Congressional Budget Office. Three Republican members used the Holman Rule to include the amendment in a “minibus” of appropriations bills which passed last night. It will provide funding for the Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments. (Congress.gov)

• Ten House Republicans have written to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) expressing concern for several 2018 budget proposals that target federal retirement. They said it breaks a promise to current employees who are preparing for retirement. The group includes many who also wrote to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about similar concerns. (Federal News Radio)

• Sixteen unions said they oppose President Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Personnel Management. The American Federation of Government Employees and the National Federation of Federal Employees were among the 16 to voice disapproval to George Nesterczuk, due to his past work on a pay-for-performance system. No date yet for Nesterczuk’s nomination hearing. (American Federation of Government Employees)

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