Federal Eye

Eye Opener: Paying to put men back on the Moon

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

Some lawmakers really want President Obama to fund trips back to the Moon -- and beyond. Happy Tuesday! On a day when President Obama spent some time discussing the importance of math and science education, a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged him on Monday to adopt the recent recommendations of a blue-ribbon panel that studied the future of NASA. The nation's economy and national security depends on future human space flight, according to the lawmakers. The NASA House Action Team, co-chaired by Reps. Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.) and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), most especially want Obama to give NASA a $3 billion annual budget increase, as recommended by the so-called Augustine panel. Obama established the group earlier this year to study the future of Space exploration. "Congress will continue to fight to maintain America's leadership in space exploration in order to inspire this and future generations to imagine, innovate, and create

Sponsors back out of climate seminar

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Updated 1:46 p.m. ET A Monday seminar on climate change has lost two sponsors following the organizer's decision to not open the event to the press. Contrary to earlier reports, organizers insist the event is indeed open to the press with one condition: That participants and audience members abide by the "Chatham House Rule," which could severely hamstring reporters eager to share the thoughts of certain people in attendance. Tonight's speakers include a mix of government and private climate change experts from the U.S. and Great Britain. The seminar's organizer is Natalia Galin, a Fulbright scholar at NASA's Goddard Space Center. In an e-mail she explained that the rule "would allow for the speakers and audience to engage in free and unrestricted discussion for the benefit of all present." The rule dates back to the late 1920s and states that "participants are free to use the information received, but neither

McCain blocking USDA nominees over Arizona snow

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Sen. John McCain has a message for the Agriculture Department: "Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow (in Arizona)!" The former Republican presidential candidate said he will block the confirmation of USDA nominees until the U.S. Forest Service allows an Arizona ski resort to make artificial snow with treated wastewater. McCain's decision means at least two USDA nominees remain in limbo awaiting Senate confirmation, according to The Post's Head Count. President Obama has not nominated anyone to fill three other political positions at USDA. McCain and Grand Canyon State colleague Jon Kyl (R) first wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in June asking why the Forest Service had not approved the Arizona Snowbowl's request to use snowmaking equipment on its peaks in the Coconino National Forest. The agency has the legal right to approve the request following years of litigation by several Native American tribes that had fought

Eye Opener: Nov. 23, 2009

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

Happy Monday! Follow The Federal Eye on Twitter and submit your news tips and events listings here. • The Government's Art: A cool Wall Street Journal sideshow depicts some of the most notable pieces from the collections of the House, Senate and State Department. • More Obama Nominees Announced: The president on Friday tapped Maria Sally Matiella to serve as assistant secretary of the Army for financial management; Paul L. Oostburg Sanz to serve as the Department of Navy's general counsel; Solomon B. Watson IV to serve as the Department of Army's general counsel; Kathleen S. Tighe to serve as the Education Department's inspector general; Orlan Johnson to serve as chairman of the board of directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporatio; and Sharon Y. Bowen to serve as the vice-chair of the board of directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Track all of Obama's nominees with The

The Eye discusses the Postal Service on MSNBC

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0500

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Watch above as The Eye discusses the Postal Service's Letters to Santa program on MSNBC on Sunday morning.

GOP investigation ties Rhee to IG firing

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0500

By Bill Turque in The Post's D.C. Wire blog: D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee had several conversations last year with a federal inspector general investigating Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson for alleged financial misconduct and inappropriate behavior with female students at a charter school he operated, The Los Angeles Times reported Friday. D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee The paper said Rhee, who once served on the board of the St. Hope school, spoke on behalf of Johnson -- whom she is now engaged to -- calling him "a good guy." Rhee's previously undisclosed involvement in the investigation is described in a 62-page congressional report on the White House's firing earlier this year of Gerald Walpin, the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service. The report is scheduled to be released today by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif) and Sen Charles E.Grassley (R-Iowa). Johnson has not been charged

Coco-crazy town's post office saved

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:56:37 -0500

Coconuts helped save one Florida town's post office. Updated 3:46 p.m. ET Among the post offices saved in the latest round of cutbacks announced Friday is the one in coconut-rich Lantana, Fla. Eye readers will recall that the town's residents sent hundreds of coconuts (yes, hundreds, not thousands as initially thought) to Postmaster General John E. Potter in an effort to save their post office. Reached Friday for comment, Lantana city manager Michael Bornstein said "“We’re thrilled. Our approach of raising awareness in an unusual way… apparently it worked.” Bornstein convinced the mayor, councilmembers, the Palm Beach County commissioner and local schoolkids to pay between $4.00 and $17.00 to mail coconuts to Washington. (Yes, you can mail a raw coconut in the mail.) “We’re going to go back to the schools and talk to the kids who did the coconuts and complete the circle about the history and the

4 D.C.-area postal locations to stay open

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:08:00 -0500

Three postal service branches in Maryland and one in the District that have been considered for closure, as the U.S. Postal Service looks to trim costs, will remain open, the agency announced Friday. Eight locations in the District remain candidates for closure, according to an updated list released Friday by the Postal Service The District's Northeast branch office on Maryland Avenue NE will stay open, as will Bethesda's Friendship Heights branch, the Landover Hills branch in Hyattsville and the Silver Spring Center branch. Nationally, 241 sites remain under consideration, down from 371 sites listed last month. Here are the eight locations in the District that might close: Station Branch Name Address Columbia Heights Finance 3321 Georgia Ave. NW Fort Davis 3843 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Ledroit Park 416 Florida Ave. NE Naval Research Laboratory 4555 Overlook Ave. SW Navy Annex 2 Navy Annex USPS Room G073 Petworth 4211 Ninth St. NW

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Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:08:00 -0500

Orszag on health care reform

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag delivers the Obama administration's health-care reform sales pitch in a Washington Post op-ed today by focusing on the economic impact of the efforts. "If we do nothing to slow the skyrocketing cost of health care, the federal government will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than all other government programs combined," Orszag writes. "It's time to move toward the high-quality, lower-cost health system of the future, and the reforms under discussion in the House and Senate will put us firmly on that path." He notes that the Congressional Budget Office (his former employer) determined that the House health-care reform bill would reduce the deficit by $109 billion over the first decade "and potentially by more than that over the second." The Senate version would reduce the deficit by $130 billion in the first decade and by more than half a

Eye Opener: No smoking near federal buildings?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0500

Happy Friday! A New York lawmaker is trying -- yet again -- to ban smoking within 25 feet of federal buildings. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill this week that bans the practice, even though the General Services Administration last year banned puffing within 25 feet of federal building doorways and intake ducts. The policy closed interior smoking rooms, but does not apply to federal buildings in which people are "voluntarily or involuntarily residing," such as prisons. It also allows for "instances where an agency head establishes limited and narrow exceptions that are necessary to accomplish agency missions." Federal employees have fought the existence of interior smoking rooms, outdoor smoking areas other loopholes in the GSA policy that might allow some colleagues to carve out indoor and outdoor smoking areas. Engel's bill appears to help those efforts, if it ever passes. "This is common sense legislation," Engel said

Postal Service's Letter to Santa program lives on

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:56:40 -0500

(Spoiler alert: This report contains some details potentially unsuitable for the young and old that believe in Santa.) Have no fear, kids: The Postal Service's Letters to Santa program lives on ... just not at the post office in North Pole, Alaska. Postal officials disputed an Associated Press report Thursday that said the entire program was bust. The program will continue at participating post offices, so long as they abide by strict guidelines designed to protect young children. "We're not Grinches," insisted Postal spokeswoman Sue Brennan. The Postal Service's Letters to Santa program began in New York City in 1912, in an effort to respond to letters from needy children seeking some holiday cheer. (It is separate from several other, privately operated letter programs.) Volunteers to assist the jolly old elf in answering his mail -- many of whom are postal employees -- adopt a letter, write a response

Auditors raise doubts about stimulus numbers, but expect data will improve

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:13:00 -0500

Updated 6:33 p.m. ET Government auditors raised doubts Thursday about the number of jobs created or saved by the economic stimulus program, but they also cautioned that erroneous mistakes reported in recent weeks signal the benefits of government transparency. Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board Chairman Earl Devaney Roughly 10 percent of the recipients of stimulus dollars failed to submit quarterly reports last month, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday. "I think missing reports may drive the job numbers up, and I think there are enough inaccuracies in here to drive the numbers down," said Earl Devaney, chairman of the board that operates Recovery.gov, the government's stimulus-tracking Web site. The Obama administration reported last month that the stimulus has directly created or saved 640,000 jobs thus far, but some officials cite independent estimates suggesting it has directly and indirectly created or saved more than 1 million jobs. The

More turbulence for FAA

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:33:41 -0500

Updated 1:25 p.m. ET Airline passengers can anticipate ongoing delays at some of the nation's major airports on Thursday, thanks to an early-morning glitch in the Federal Aviation Administration computer system that handles basic flight plan data. Problems with telecommunications equipment at an FAA office in Salt Lake City started around 5 a.m. ET, the agency said. The problems caused a failure of the National Airspace Data Interchange Network (NADIN), because it relies on the equipment based in Salt Lake City. NADIN distributes information to air traffic controllers across the country before planes take off, and its failure will cause a domino effect through the rest of the day as air traffic controllers sort through backlogs that started this morning. This is the second such malfunction in 15 months, according to the Associated Press. But many other systems were untouched: as The Post's Sholnn Freeman reports, NADIN does not handle

Eye Opener: Notables tapped for B'casting Board

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

Updated 9:00 a.m. ET Happy Thursday! President Obama has tapped several well-known names to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, including a few journalism veterans and a former Bush administration official. Obama has asked Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson to serve as board chair. The best-selling author previously ran CNN and TIME Magazine. Obama also tapped George W. Bush's final press secretary, Dana Perino, to serve on the board, along with Susan McCue, former chief of staff to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.); Michael Meehan, former chief of staff to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) (NOT the former Massachusetts Congresssman as previously reported incorrectly); Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton; former U.S. ambassador to Poland Victor H. Ashe; Commonwealth Partners founder and managing director Dennis Mulhaupt and Hudson Institute Senior Vice President S. Enders Wimbush. The Board operates Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio

GAO: clearer guidance needed for reporting stimulus funds

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:35:58 -0500

A government audit set for release Thursday urges the Obama administration to provide further guidance on how recipients of economic stimulus dollars should report jobs created with the funding. The administration has struggled to clearly define how to report new or saved jobs since it's difficult to know what role the funding played. Further complicating efforts, state and local governments have used much of the money to pay for temporary, part-time or seasonal work, making it unclear when and how such jobs should be reported. The Government Accountability Office found that almost 4,000 designated recipients who have not yet received stimulus funding reported creating or saving more than 58,000 jobs. Another 9,200 recipients reported no job creation, despite receiving a total of $965 million. The findings demonstrate the difficulty of counting jobs created by the stimulus. Some recipients may have misstated job numbers. Others may have decided to retain workers