FCW Insider: October 26, 2021
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
GAO prods OPM to review pandemic hiring
A new Government Accountability Office report says that not compiling the lessons learned from special hiring authorities could "risk significantly hindering the government's ability to recruit, hire, retain and manage its current COVID-19 pandemic workforce as well as for future pandemics or emergencies."
Federal watchdog calls out transparency issues in pandemic spending
A committee established to ensure transparency around government spending related to COVID-19 found that federal agencies failed to provide clear reporting on how they were spending billions of dollars.
State Department offers glimpse of $8B IT services contract
The multiple-award contract dubbed "Evolve" is the successor to the Vanguard contract held by Science Applications International Corp. since 2010.
ICYMI: IGs look to expand investigative authority
Agency watchdogs told lawmakers that they would like authority to subpoena former federal employees, contractors and other non-governmental witnesses to give testimony in IG probes.
Quick Hits
*** A staff report from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform found that officials reversed the recommendations of a Customs and Border Protection Discipline and Review Board to fire or sanction dozens of employees for racist, sexist and derogatory social media posts on a private Facebook group called "I'm 10-15," a reference to a Border Patrol code for "aliens in custody." The report found that the board recommended 24 removals but only two employees were ultimately let go. The report also noted that awareness of the Facebook group on the part of top CBP officials dates back to 2016, and alleges that "longstanding and widespread poor morale at CBP [contributed] to a culture that allowed 'I'm 10-15' and other Facebook groups to flourish."
*** The Intelligence and National Security Alliance is looking for changes to the federal government's controlled, unclassified information (CUI) program to make it less complex, account for proprietary information and set up uniform implementation across agencies. "The explosion of CUI categories, overly complex protection [and] handling guidelines, and a lack of strong centralized management authority undermine the program's effectiveness," ISNA states in a new paper.