FCW Insider: October 14, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
MSPB's online appeals system is getting a revamp
The agency is modernizing its online appeals system used by feds. Accessibility needs to be a central part of that entire process, said agency officials.
Is category management hurting small businesses?
Small business owners testified on Capitol Hill about getting squeezed by category management and contract bundling initiatives.
One Army corps sees data education as the foundation of AI-enabled targeting
Expanding data education has proven to be foundational and a defining metric as the Army tests artificial intelligence to improve weapons targeting for the 18th Airborne Corps.
Quick Hits
*** The General Services Administration is seeking ideas on the next generation of green building technologies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at federal facilities and which could eventually be adopted by the private sector. The agency released a request for information in collaboration with the Department of Energy on Wednesday that encourages vendors to think about "novel financing approaches and/or business models" to speed low-emission technologies to the marketplace.
*** The Social Security Administration announced on Wednesday that next year's cost-of-living adjustment will be 5.9%. That's the highest adjustment since 1982. Federal retirees enrolled in the Civil Service Retirement System will see that bump in their annuity payments in 2022. Former feds in the Federal Employees Retirement System will see a smaller 4.9% adjustment, a discrepancy that has been the target of some on Capitol Hill. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) reintroduced legislation in January to provide both groups the same adjustment - and federal employee groups.