Article Title: Microsoft blasts "government snooping," pledges to enhance encryption 
Article Title: System for Award Management (SAM)
Snippet of Article: "...The System for Award Management (SAM) is combining federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one new system. This consolidation is being done in phases...."
Article Title: NSA spied on porn habits, HuffPo reports
Article Title: Bill would ensure blue-collar federal workers get 1 percent pay raise in January
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| bitcoin.org |
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| FERS |
Article Title: NSA’s Keith Alexander questions Washington Post report
Snippet of Article: "... the NSA secretly mined the connection between Google’s and Yahoo’s data hubs. The project, code named MUSCULAR and targeting data centers located around the world..."
Article Title: Young workers souring on federal careers
Snippet of Article: "...No one has compiled statistics on the number of federal workers quitting their jobs or looking to do so. But public employees say the chorus of dissatisfaction among young people is reaching record decibels...."
Snippet of Article: "...Most federal employees who filed for unemployment compensation while they were furloughed are being asked to pay that money back..."
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| Federal Furlough News |
Article Title: Many Unpaid Federal Workers Applying For Unemployment
Snippet of Article: "...Now four days into the shutdown, many unpaid federal workers are applying for unemployment...."
Article Title: Government shuts down after Congress fails to pass spending bill
Snippet of Article: "...WASHINGTON —The federal government shut down for the first time in nearly two decades following more than a week of legislative jockeying ..."
Article Title: Government shutdown: Get up to speed in 20 questions
Snippet of Article: "...(CNN) -- Let's start with the obvious question: Will the government shut down this week? Most likely. Republicans and Democrats can agree on that...."
Article Title: House sets vote on funding bill; agencies brace for shutdown
Snippet of Article: "...Nationwide, 400,000 civilian Defense Department workers would be furloughed. Maryland and Virginia would be hurt more by a shutdown..."
Article Title: OPM Announces 2014 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Premium Rates
Washington, DC – The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced the average premium rate for the 8.2 million people covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program will increase by 3.7 percent in 2014. That percentage is only slightly higher than last year’s increase of 3.4 percent and less than the national average increase in 2013. The average premium increase for the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) will be under one percent for dental coverage and average premiums for vision benefits will decrease by 1.3 percent.
“For the third year in a row, OPM has kept the average premium increases for the FEHB Program under 4 percent, continuing our commitment to provide federal employees, annuitants and their families with the best possible coverage options,” said OPM Acting Director Elaine Kaplan. “The FEHB Program delivers competitive rates and benefits through an efficiently run program to attract and retain top-talent in the federal service.”
There are no significant benefit changes for 2014 and more plan choices: 256, up by over 10 percent from 2013.
On average, FEHB Program enrollees with self only coverage will pay $3.28 more per bi-weekly pay period, and enrollees with family coverage will pay $7.90 more. Premiums for Health Maintenance Organizations will increase an average of 6.5 percent, while Fee-for-Service plans will see an average increase of 3.1 percent.
The 2013 Open Season for health, dental, and vision insurance and flexible spending accounts will be held from November 11, 2013 to December 9, 2013. The annual Open Season gives federal employees and retirees the opportunity to review their health plan choices and make changes for the following year. It also allows eligible employees to enroll for coverage. FEHB Program enrollees should review the benefits and premiums for their health plan choices and decide what coverage will best fit their healthcare needs in the coming year.
Established in 1960, the FEHB Program is the largest employer-sponsored health benefits program in the United States. The government provides a weighted average contribution of 72 percent of premiums with a cap of no more than 75 percent of total premium cost. Approximately 90 percent of all federal employees participate in the Program.
The OPM website provides a detailed breakdown on the FEHB Program premium rates and the FEDVIP rates.
Article Title: Most government employees would work through shutdown
Snippet of Article: "...An estimated 59% of non-defense federal employees would be exempt from the shutdown and would go to work as usual, according to a USA TODAY..."
Article Title: FDA issues final guidance on mobile medical apps
Snippet of Article: "...The FDA is focusing its oversight on mobile medical apps that:
* are intended to be used as an accessory to a regulated medical device – for example, an application that allows a health care professional to make a specific diagnosis by viewing a medical image from a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) on a smartphone or a mobile tablet; or
* transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device – for example, an application that turns a smartphone into an electrocardiography (ECG) machine to detect abnormal heart rhythms or determine if a patient is experiencing a heart attack...."
Article Title: Federal agency charged with security checks has been urged to improve standards
Snippet of Article: "...Since 2007, 21 investigators and record checkers who work on security clearances for OPM have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to falsifying their reports..."
Article Title: Congress to take federal budget conversation behind closed doors
Snippet of Article: "...This time around, the budget will include the health law because there are Republicans who are trying to take the money away from it. ..."
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| 9/11 Bikers in D.C. |
Article Title: Government employee groups push back on Senate bill
Snippet of Article: "...“The health insurance provisions,” the groups wrote in a letter dated Friday, “will undermine the successful, longstanding Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and increase costs for millions of federal employees, retirees and their families.”..."
Article Title: Letter from the President -- Regarding Alternate Pay for Civilian Federal Employees
Snippet of Article: "...I am transmitting an alternative plan for pay increases for civilian Federal employees covered by the General Schedule (GS) and certain other pay systems for 2014. ..."
Article Title: Here's A Fantastic Data Visualization Of The US Intelligence Community's 'Black Budget' Spending
Snippet of Article: "...Grandjean noted the five agencies that receive the most funding: CIA (28%), NSA (21%), National Reconnaissance Office (20%), National Geospatial-Intelligence Program (9%), and General Defense Intelligence Program (8%).
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/data-visualization-of-the-black-budget-2013-9#ixzz2dqVlfp7D
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Article Title: What you should know about RIFs
Snippet of Article: "...As sequestration tightens its hold and Congress carves away at agency budgets, losing your job is a distinct possibility. To be prepared, you need to have a clear understanding of the rules governing reductions-in-force (RIFs)...."
Article Title: Federal workers to be surveyed about benefits
Snippet of Article: "...a survey that in the past has shown that they most highly value their retirement and health insurance programs and in general think those programs meet their needs and provide good value...."
Article Title: USPS Plan to Pull Out of Fed Health Benefits Could Cost Postal Workers
Snippet of Article: "...While most non-postal FEHB enrollees would likely not be affected by USPS’ withdrawal from the program, about 29,000 federal employees would have to select a new health plan, according to GAO, as some plans that primarily offer services to USPS workers would drop out of FEHB. ..."
Article Title: Senate panel backs 1 percent raise for federal employees
Snippet of Article: "... the Committee fully funds the 1 percent pay raise for civilian employees as requested,” the report says...."
Article Title: No Civilian Pensions for Military Retirees?
Snippet of Article: "... Defense Department is mulling numerous reductions that will affect civilian employees, including doing away with civilian employee pensions for military retirees who..."
Article Title: Postal Service Confirms Photographing All U.S. Mail
Snippet of Article: "...The information is then sent to the law enforcement agency that asked for it. Tens of thousands of pieces of mail each year undergo this scrutiny, and a number of law enforcement agencies have used it, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services. Law enforcement officials called the mail covers an important investigative tool. ..."
