Federal Daily - September 11, 2009

Ground Broken for New $3.4 Billion DHS Complex

Officials on Sept. 9 held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $3.4 billion home of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initiating the largest federal building project in the Washington metro area since the Pentagon was built 68 years ago. Located on the 176-acre campus of the old St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in southeast Washington., the project will bring together more than 15,000 employees now scattered in 35 offices across the metro area, placing them in buildings less than five miles from the Capitol. The project also is intended to help revitalize and spur development in the surrounding community of Anacostia, according to a joint announcement issued by DHS and the General Services Administration (GSA). The hospital campus has 62 buildings built between the 1850s and 1940 that are in varying stages of disrepair. The federal government plans to preserve 52 of the historic buildings. Last month, GSA awarded a $435 million contract to design the site’s first phase—a new, energy-efficient 1.18 million-square-foot Coast Guard headquarters facility. Occupancy of the new Coast Guard headquarters is expected to begin in 2013. To see more, go to: www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelId=-24825&P=&contentId=28453&contentType=GSA_BASIC.

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DoD School Students Score Higher Than National Average

Students attending DoD Education Activity (DoDEA) schools scored higher than the national average in all subject areas on a recent round of assessment tests, according to a DoDEA announcement on Sept. 10. The achievement tests, the TerraNova Multiple Assessments, are administered in the spring to all DoDEA students in grades 3 through 11. Overall, DoDEA students scored substantially higher than the national average (50th percentile) in all subject areas, including reading, language, math, science and social studies, DoDEA said. On 39 of the 45 subtests, DoDEA students scored 10 to 26 percentile points above the national average, and five to nine percentile points above the national average on the remaining six subtests. DoDEA provides pre-K through grade 12 education programs for children of military servicemembers and DoD civilian employees through 191 schools in 12 foreign countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico. DoDEA also provides support and resources to non-DoD public schools throughout the United States that serve children of military families. Approximately 8,700 educators serve more than 77,000 DoDEA students. To see more, go to: www.dodea.edu/pressroom/releasesDisplay.cfm?prId=20090910.

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NWS Consolidation Plan Fraught With Challenges, GAO Says

A National Weather Service (NWS) plan to close most of its 21 aviation weather service centers and consolidate forecasting at two centers is fraught with challenges which—if left unaddressed—will leave the effort with “little chance of success,” according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report, released Sept. 9, looked at NWS plans submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to close centers and consolidate forecasting at two locations in Maryland and Kansas City. Each regional center operates 16 hours a day, 7 days a week and usually is staffed with three meteorologists and a meteorologist-in-charge. As part of the plan, NWS proposed reducing the number of personnel needed to support its operations from 84 to 50 full-time staff. However, GAO noted that the two agencies have a history of not working well together and the NWS plan calls for collaboration. In addition, the restructuring proposals have not been aligned with the national strategic vision for NextGen—a long-term initiative to transition FAA from the current radar-based system to an aircraft-centered, satellite-based system. GAO said that even if the agencies can resolve their interagency problems, they must develop a schedule that includes adequate time for stakeholder involvement, keep current existing services, and reconfigure the infrastructure and technologies to the new structure. “Unless and until these challenges are addressed, the proposed restructuring of aviation weather services at en route centers poses new risks and has little chance of success,” the report said. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/highlights/d09761high.pdf.

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