Federal Newscast

The Coast Guard has digitized 40% of its paper health records as of February. In a new update on the initiative, the Coast Guard said the goal is to completely digitize all paper health records by the third quarter of fiscal 2027. The service began the effort to digitize 45,000 paper health records in November 2022. Digitized records can be viewed on the MHS Genesis portal and are also accessible to the Department of Veterans Affairs for benefits delivery.

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The Postal Service strikes a labor deal with another one of its unions. USPS reached a tentative agreement with the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, which represents more than 130,000 rural letter carriers. NRLCA members must vote to ratify the contract before it’s approved. Letter carriers represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers voted against a tentative contract earlier this year. It took a third-party arbitrator to reach a final labor agreement between USPS and NALC.

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A group of bipartisan senators is asking President Donald Trump to reconsider his broad

cancelation of federal collective bargaining agreements. In a letter sent to the President on Thursday, four senators say they are concerned that his recent executive order will impede efforts to make the government more efficient. Trump eliminated most agencies’ union contracts last month, citing national security concerns.  But the lawmakers say collective bargaining has a largely positive effect on the federal workforce, as it improves productivity and efficiency. The two Republicans and two Democrats are urging Trump to reverse course on his decision.

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Agencies who handle the federal permitting process for roads, bridges and other infrastructure

programs are on the hook to modernize the technology that runs these systems and share data more easily. President Donald Trump's latest executive order says the Council on Environmental Quality has 45 days to develop a Permitting Technology Action Plan that will include initial technology and data standards.  The action plan also will provide a roadmap for creating a unified interagency permitting and environmental review data system. Agencies then will have 90 days to implement the data and technology standards and minimum functional requirements for the new interagency system. CEQ also will  lead an interagency Permitting Innovation Center that will design and test prototype tools that could be implemented as part of the

Permitting Technology Action Plan.

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The PACT Act has reportedly made determining when veterans' benefits payments should be issued more difficult. The Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general says about a quarter of all PACT Act related claims it reviewed over a year were issued incorrect effective dates, resulting in nearly $7 million in improper payments. The IG says a lack of training is mainly to blame and recommended creating a job aid for claims processors.

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The Department of Veterans Affairs is starting its search to fill two leadership roles. The VA is looking for candidates that President Donald Trump can nominate as the next under

secretary for health and undersecretary for benefits. VA’s Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence will oversee the search. Both roles face major projects, from rolling out a new Electronic Health Record, to processing a record volume of disability claims. The under secretary for health will oversee accelerated plans to roll out a new Electronic Health Record. The under secretary for

benefits will ensure the VA can continue processing a record volume of disability claims.

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Lawmakers are calling on the National Archives to  investigate the use of unauthorized

communications platforms by top government officials. Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee say the reported use of Signal and Gmail by national security officials creates major cybersecurity risks. They also point out that it could violate federal record laws. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz reportedly has used both Signal and Gmail for sensitive discussions.

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President Donald Trump seeks to ease the foreign arms sales process for U.S. defense

companies. Trump signed an executive order aimed at reducing rules and regulations governing military equipment sales to other countries. Both industry and foreign nations have long complained about the process that has been plagued by bureaucratic delays and lengthy approval procedures. Trump instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to identify top-priority ally nations and the most strategically important weapons

and systems for faster delivery to those countries. The executive order also directs Hegseth, Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to submit a plan that makes exportability a requirement earlier in the acquisition cycle and consolidates the sales approval process.

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Just over 7,800 federal employees retired in March, almost 2,000 less than who left in

February. The Office of Personnel Management says the claims backlog also dropped to about 16,500, which is the lowest its been in 2025. The time to process retirement claims also ticked back up to average about 50 days in March. But OPM says the average time to process a claim for all of 2025 dropped one day to 54 days. More than 33,500 federal employees have

retired so far in 2025, that is about 3,800 more than the number who left in the first three months of 2024.

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The acting head of the IRS is stepping down in the aftermath of a new data sharing agreement between the agency and Customs and Border Protection. Multiple sources tell the Associated Press that Melanie Krause resigned because of the new development on Tuesday. The agreement will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records. Krause has served as acting commissioner since February.

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