Federal Newscast

House lawmakers are looking to beef up protections against fraud risks across government. A new bipartisan bill would create a standardized training program for federal employees to learn how to identify and root out fraud. Sponsors say federal employees are not currently equipped with consistent training on fraud prevention. The lawmakers say that has led to higher vulnerabilities in government programs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Coast Guard is partially reopening the National Maritime Center. In a notice this week, the Coast Guard said NMC civilian staff have returned to work, as the Department of Homeland Security taps into emergency funds during the partial government shutdown. The NMC will process applications for merchant mariner credentials, medical certificates, and course approvals on a first-in and first-out basis. But Regional Examination Centers will continue to be closed to walk-in customers. Last week, Coast Guard leaders told Congress there’s a growing backlog of 18,000 merchant mariner credentials due to the shutdown.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House Republicans are proposing a billion-dollar cut to IRS funding next year. A fiscal 2027 spending bill introduced by members of the House Appropriations Committee would give the IRS a $10.2-billion budget next year. The Trump administration proposed more severe IRS cuts in its budget proposal, closer to a $1.5 billion cut. Funding for public-facing taxpayer services would remain untouched, but IRS enforcement would see the deepest cuts under the plan from House Republicans.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new House bill would establish a permanent Inspector General for Fraud, Accountability and Recovery. The Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act, introduced by Texas Republican Pete Sessions last week, would ensure the permanent IG assists other inspectors general in detecting and mitigating fraud in federal awards over $50,000. The bill also would require the Treasury Secretary to make recommendations for anti-fraud resources in any future emergency relief or recovery appropriations packages. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The number of so-called “TSP millionaires” is trending downward. As of April 1, there were about 185,000 Thrift Savings Plan participants with accounts totaling over $1 million. Compared with the previous fiscal quarter, that means there are now about 10,000 fewer TSP millionaires. Latest reports show that million-dollar accounts make up about 2.5% of the nearly 7.3 million total TSP accounts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Space Force has laid out a vision for how it plans to operate in space over the next 15 years. In two highly anticipated documents, service officials describe how they think the space environment will evolve by 2040 and the capabilities the service will need to keep pace with emerging threats. Service officials estimate the U.S. could operate around 30,000 satellites by 2040 and that artificial intelligence and autonomy will transform space operations.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal union is raising alarms about the Trump administration’s planned reorganization of the Forest Service. The National Federation of Federal Employees warns that the agency’s plan to move its headquarters to Utah and eliminate regional offices, will hurt the ability to effectively combat wildfires. The Forest Service reorganization will impact about 6,500 federal employees. Union officials say the relocations will almost certainly lead some of those employees to quit their jobs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today is the deadline for the tax filing season. But the IRS is giving more help to those who filed an extension. The IRS will have special Saturday hours this weekend at some of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers across the country. The IRS says TACs will be open in dozens of states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The IRS will also have extended hours for in-person help on weekdays through April 30.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Department of the Air Force, in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit, has selected two bases as potential sites for nuclear microreactors. Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado and Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana could become the first Air Force installations powered by the technology under the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program. Commercial reactor companies would be responsible for siting, licensing, building, operating and decommissioning the reactors. The Air Force expects to pair the bases with reactor developers in the coming months, The reactors are expected to be deployed by 2030. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal unions are advocating for pay raise parity between civilian and military members next year. They say not providing federal employees with a raise in 2027 would be “disastrous.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department is expanding hiring flexibilities in an effort to reduce the persistently high unemployment rate among military spouses, which has held steady at around 22% or about five times the national average. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

During March, OPM received close to 15,000 incoming retirement applications, but processed over 22,000. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agencies say Iranian-linked hackers are targeting critical industries like the U.S. energy and water sectors. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Space Force budget would see a major increase under President Donald Trump’s massive $1.5 trillion defense proposal. The White House is requesting $71 billion for the newest military branch. The service received approximately $40 billion for the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30. Space Force officials have long argued that the service needs to grow in order to effectively meet growing national security demands. Service officials previously said the Space Force is not only prepared to absorb a significant influx of funding, it’s also in urgent need of a large funding boost. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Despite the decline, 472 service members died by suicide last year, continuing a yearslong trend of increasing suicide rates among active duty service members. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Social Security Administration's rollout of new systems for scheduling appointments and managing its caseload nationwide is on hold for now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The bad month for the TSP also means 12 of 16 funds are in the red for 2026.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Trump administration has opened applications for the next class of White House Fellows. Those selected for the fellowship program will spend a year in Washington, D.C., aiding the work of senior administration officials. Applications are open until April 22. Once candidates are selected, the paid fellowship opportunity begins this September and ends next August. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Army has selected two companies to build massive data centers at Fort Bliss in Texas and at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. The deal follows President Donald Trump’s executive order to allow private companies to use federally owned land and resources to quickly build AI data centers. While the deal is not final, the selection of the two companies will allow the arm to enter negotiations and finalize the terms of the agreement. The Army said the two companies will be “responsible for financing, building, operating, maintaining and decommissioning the data centers on underutilized land at no upfront cost to taxpayers.” The data center at Fort Bliss is expected to be operational in 2027, while the project at Dugway Proving Ground is expected to be completed by 2029. The Army Corps of Engineers will play a key role in this project’s development.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers are seeking to codify President Donald Trump’s executive order that limits stock buybacks and executive pay for certain defense contractors. A new bill, titled Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting Act, would prohibit large defense contractors from purchasing their own stock and paying out dividends. It would also prohibit linking executive pay to short-term financial metrics and cap executive compensation at $5 million. Contractors that fail to comply could face penalties, including suspending contract payments and terminating contracts. Republican Senator Josh Hawley said that defense contractors “should be focused on expanding production, not padding their bottom lines.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.