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Federal Newscast

Federal News Network | Hubbard Radio

THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, (length about seven minutes), is a daily Monday through Friday, high-information compilation of nine 40-second news stories and news packages, generated by the non-partisan, non-political, private-sector team of reporters at Federal News Network. Federal News Radio Producer/Newscasters Eric White and Michele Sandiford assemble and read the stories on the THE FEDERAL DRIVE with TERRY GERTON, the weekday morning-drive program, heard from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET) on the Federal News Network app (and website), on any smart speaker, and on WFED 1500 AM, a 50,000-watt 'Class A' powerhouse radio station in the nation's capital. The podcast is most popular with FNN's audience of highly educated listeners, who conveniently access THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, 24/7, on any podcast platform . Listen to it (as just mentioned) or read the stories each weekday morning at FederalNewsNetwork.com, where the news items contain hyperlinks for those who want more information on a given story.

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29 episodes
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Friday · 6 min
400 federal positions will now earn salaries of up to $400,000
Up to 400 federal positions can now earn salaries of $400,000. A new final rule from the Office of Personnel Management allows the higher pay rates for hundreds of workers under an authority known as “critical position pay.” The authority is meant to help agencies recruit and retain highly qualified and specialized government workers in mission-critical roles. OPM’s final rule this week aligns with President Donald Trump’s orders earlier this year to use the pay authority for up to 400 national security roles. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Thursday · 6 min
Federal wildland firefighters can now earn higher pay rates
Federal wildland firefighters can now earn higher pay rates for more types of work. A recent final rule from the Office of Personnel Management authorizes a 25% “hazard pay” boost for work on prescribed burns. That’s in addition to firefighters already getting hazard pay when working on uncontrolled wildfires. OPM says the final rule creates “pay parity,” since both types of work involve similar health and safety risks from fire and smoke. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Wednesday · 5 min
Thousands of feds who took the DRP have essentially been replaced
Thousands of federal employees who left the government via the deferred resignation program have essentially been replaced. That's according to new data analysis from the Partnership for Public Service. The nonprofit finds that the agency and occupational series for more than 20,000 employees who took the DRP can be matched to a position later filled in the same category. The turnover marks a loss of institutional knowledge and capacity, the Partnership says. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 25 · 6 min
NSA isn’t complying with federal laws on whistleblower protections, IG finds
The National Security Agency doesn’t appear to be complying with federal laws that require the agency to outline whistleblower protections in its nondisclosure agreement. The NSA’s inspector general said the agency doesn’t have a central repository of its NDAs or an overarching policy. But for four of the five agreements the IG did find, whistleblower protection notifications were left out entirely. The agency said it has a plan in place to fix the issue. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 24 · 6 min
Lawmakers call for investigation into CISA workforce cuts as threats increase
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is coming under scrutiny for workforce cuts as cyber and physical threats to critical infrastructure rise. A group of Democratic lawmakers are pushing for a Government Accountability Office report on the impact of recent workforce reductions and program cuts on CISA’s ability to fulfill its mission. The lawmakers, from the House Committee on Homeland Security and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, pointed to CISA’s loss of nearly 1,000 employees, or about a third of its workforce, in the first half of 2025. Though CISA has announced plans to hire 300 employees to rebuild, the Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal proposes removing another 900 positions from the agency. CISA has also experienced leadership turnover during the second Trump administration. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 21 · 6 min
Agencies are getting some help with logging cybersecurity data
Add the employees at the Agriculture Department's Rural Development Agency to the growing list of successful feds who have won grievances before an arbitrator after losing their remote work and telework rights. Arbitrator Margaret Donaghy ruled Wednesday in favor of RDA employees represented by the American Federation of State, City and Municipal Employees. The union filed a grievance when USDA ended teleworking and remote work agreements without bargaining in April 2025. Donaghy ordered USDA to restore the telework and remote work arrangements and make the employees whole by paying any travel expenses, compensation or credit for additional hours worked. Suzanne Summerlin, the attorney representing the employees, says this is the fifth arbitration award won by employees in recent months with similar awards issued at the Forest Service, HUD, the IRS, and SSA. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 20 · 6 min
Space Force opens its own recruiting squadron
The Space Force has opened its own recruiting squadron nearing seven years after the newest service was created. The 320th Recruiting Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is the service's first unit dedicated to bringing in new generations of guardians. Air Force united handled Space Force recruiting to save money as the youngest service matured. Now the military space workforce has expanded enough that the Space Force wants to grow its recruiting apparatus to keep up. The service has already reached its goal of enlisting 730 new guardians in 2026. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 19 · 6 min
Military's newest branch sees significant funding increase
The Space Force’s fiscal 2027 budget request would significantly increase funding for missile warning, missile tracking and command and control programs. That would account for more than 45% of the proposed growth, according to a recent analysis. Classified spending would account for about 30% of the service’s overall budget growth. The Space Force budget could see a major budget increase in fiscal 2027. The White House requested $71 billion for the newest military branch. But that figure is not guaranteed. The White House’s base budget request is around $59 billion. Another $12. 1 billion is contingent upon Congress passing another reconciliation package, which faces a difficult path in the Senate. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 18 · 6 min
Air Force updates rules for civilian job applicants
The Department of the Air Force is updating its rules for determining whether civilian applicants are a good fit for federal jobs. New interim guidance says candidates must be deemed initially favorable before receiving a firm job offer and must earn a final decision that they are suitable for employment in order to retain the job. “It is important to ensure individuals hired are loyal, trustworthy and of good character,” the memo says. The memo follows a broader Trump administration directive on the same topic and will be replaced with a permanent rule. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 17 · 6 min
FAA hires 2000 gamers as new air traffic controllers
The Federal Aviation Administration has hired over 2,000 new air traffic controllers, all with a shared passion: videogames. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says in a recent online post that the FAA hiring initiative focused on gamers, launched in April, has met 94% of its hiring goal. Duffy says this is the highest-ever number of hires at FAA in a year. The hiring surge comes as FAA has struggled with workforce shortages in recent years. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 14 · 6 min
Lawmakers want insight into staffing and funding at statistical agencies
A top House democrat is demanding a hearing to examine the effects of the Trump administration’s actions at federal statistical agencies. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee, said committee members should understand how recent challenges of understaffing and underfunding at these agencies are impacting their work. Scott pointed to a recent report from the American Statistical Association that highlights problems like halted projects and reports, low response rates, decreased data production and smaller staff across agencies including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Economic Research Service and the National Center for Education Statistics. Scott requested a September hearing on how lower quality, less frequent data reports will impact the American public. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 13 · 6 min
MSPB officially transitions away from its authority over adverse action appeals
The Merit Systems Protection Board is officially transitioning away some of its authority over adverse action appeal decisions. A new final rule from MSPB removes all references to the board’s prior jurisdiction over appeals due to firings or demotions during a reduction-in-force, probationary period or for a suitability-related reason. The adjustments at MSPB come after the Office of Personnel Management finalized rules to take over decisions in those three categories of workplace disputes. The change takes full effect in early September. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 12 · 6 min
Army loses 18% of civilian workforce at two major depots
The Army has lost 18% of its civilian workforce at two of its major depots. The Government Accountability Office found that the Anniston and Red River Army Depots lost nearly 800 permanent and term-limited employees when comparing fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025. Specifically, Anniston’s workforce decreased by 616 people. Meanwhile, its contractor workforce more than doubled during this period. Depot officials said the hiring freeze has prevented them from replacing skilled maintainers who retired or took the deferred resignation program. They also said that contractors “often arrive without the required skills,” and that “contractor employee turnover and skill gaps can affect production continuity.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 11 · 6 min
Federal retirement claims backlog at lowest point in 2026
The backlog of federal retirement claims is at the lowest point in 2026 with just over 24,000 in OPM's inventory. New data shows OPM processed more than 17,000 claims last month, of which 14,000 were done digitally. Additionally, OPM says it of the 14,000 claims it received in July, 10,500 were provided to them in an electronic format. Despite this progress, processing times inched up to 98 days on average for digital claims and 109 days for all claims. OPM says, on average, paper based claims took 156 days to process. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 10 · 6 min
Federal union warns Forest Service reorganization could worsen federal wildfire response
A federal union is urging the Forest Service to reverse course on its upcoming reorganization plans. The National Federation of Federal Employees warns that shuttering facilities and relocating Forest Service staff will worsen federal response during wildfire season. After staffing reductions at the Forest Service during 2025, union officials say the agency now is likely to lose additional workers due to the reorganization including those with “red cards,” who are qualified to respond as wildland firefighters. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 7 · 5 min
96% of DOGE’s claimed savings on federal grants cannot be verified
The Department of Government Efficiency touted that it saved $110 billion across federal contracts, grants and leases. But many of DOGE’s claims don’t have supporting evidence and some are simply incorrect. A new report from the Government Accountability Office finds that 96% of DOGE’s claimed savings on federal grants cannot be verified. And some savings that DOGE posted on its “wall of receipts” website were already being phased out before DOGE was established. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 6 · 6 min
Thrift Savings Plan funds see losses in July
June was not a good month for your money in the Thrift Savings Plan. Fifteen of 16 funds saw month-over-month declines, including the S Fund which dropped more than 4% over the last 30 days. Of the 15 funds that dropped in July, the good news is 12 of them saw declines of less than 1%. The G Fund was the only account to come in positive last month with a growth of just under 0.4%. For the year, 15 of 16 funds are growing at a healthy rate with nine earning double digit returns. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 5 · 6 min
Army overhauls its discrimination and harassment reporting policies
The Army is overhauling how it treats discrimination and harassment complaints. Beginning later this year, the service will no longer allow soldiers to anonymously file allegations of discrimination or harassment with military equal opportunity offices. Instead, EO offices can process claims while keeping soldiers' personal information confidential. Troops who opt to file a confidential claim will not be required to notify their command or initiate a complaint that could lead to an investigation. Commanders may still act on anonymous allegations that warrant further review. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 4 · 6 min
AFGE denounces Education Dept employee transfers to other agencies
The Education Department transferred another 64 employees from K-12, special education, higher education and career, technical and adult education programs to other agencies. The American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents Education employees, is denouncing the decision, calling it illegal and part of the administration's effort to dismantle the department. AFGE says Education transferred 10 Native education workers from multiple offices to the Department of the Interior. AFGE says two postsecondary education employees are going to the Department of State and another 52 workers in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Office of Postsecondary Education are headed to the Labor Department. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
August 3 · 7 min
Senate CR would delay OMB's grants rewrite
The Senate's version of the continuing resolution released last week not only keeps the government open through December 11 but would prohibit OMB from implementing the rewrite of the federal grants regulations. A provision in the CR agreed to by both Republicans and Democrats would pause the new regulations until at least December 11. In addition to the grants provision, the CR also would extend the Technology Modernization Fund for another 10 weeks. Senator Susan Collins, the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, says the CR also avoids any "poison pills" that could lead to a government shutdown. The House passed its version of the CR on July 21. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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