FCW Insider: March 25, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
OPM official: No going back to pre-COVID status quo
The Office of Personnel Management wants to use upcoming guidance on telework to offer a new vision for federal work, an agency official said Wednesday.
Industry groups call for TMF reforms following funding boost
The groups' call for changes to how the government operates the modernization fund echoes concerns that multiple former CIOs voiced to FCW this month in interviews.
What's at stake with Biden's Pentagon vacancies?
The Biden administration has several Defense Department vacancies to fill in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and military departments. But what does that mean for personnel and the 2022 budget?
Quick Hits
*** Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, named five lawmakers to serve as vice-chairs on the panel's subcommittees. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) will be vice-chair of the critical Government Operations subcommittee. Additionally, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will be vice-chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) will vice chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) will be vice chair of the Subcommittee on Environment and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) will be vice chair of the Subcommittee on National Security.
*** Charlotte Dye was named general counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority by President Joe Biden. Dye is a longtime agency hand with almost 30 years of service.
"This appointment is critical to addressing the current a backlog of nearly 450 labor-management disputes," American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. "For more than three years, the FLRA has not been able to issue complaints due to the vacant general counsel position. This has left disputes between workers and management unresolved and allowed the unfair actions to continue."
*** In a March 24 letter, Rep. Carolyn Maloney urged President Biden to use his authority under the 2021 defense bill to appoint a National Cyber Director.
"The lack of centralized and coordinated cybersecurity leadership at the White House has had devastating consequences, as recently demonstrated by the SolarWinds breach in which a suspected Russian state actor infiltrated the networks of at least nine federal agencies and over a hundred private-sector companies," Maloney wrote.