Buzz Factor

: The Office of Personnel Management says the two-year freeze on federal employees' pay applies only to cost-of-living allowances — not promotions, step raises or bonuses. : The pay freeze enjoys wide bipartisan support, but federal managers still have some ability to give raises. : Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered more details on the cost savings he’s planning through IT consolidation, workforce cuts and other measures. : Gates’ plan still has a lot of hurdles to clear, but it’s a sure bet changes are coming soon. : The new Pathways Programs offer three routes for talented young people to enter the federal workforce, while an older internship program criticized for circumventing competition gets nixed. : Recruiting is a perennial difficulty for agencies, and the pay freeze can’t help. Time will tell if the new programs will have an effect. : Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) has introduced a bill with a number of cost-cutting measures, including one that would reduce the federal workforce by 10 percent in 10 years. : The chances of Brady’s bill passing might be slim, but individual provisions could find support among lawmakers and resurface in other legislation. : We offer seven habits to cultivate so you can use social media more effectively for your agency.: Social media is here to stay. Now it's time to adopt a consistent strategy for using it. : Rear Adm. Keith Taylor took the blame for the Coast Guard’s policy of improperly using maintenance funds to make up for a severe gap in construction and acquisition funds for shore facilities from 2003 to 2007.: The Homeland Security Department's auditors believed a few other people were also responsible, but Taylor’s insistence on taking the fall leaves some parts of the investigation unresolved. : It looked like feds might get a reprieve when the omnibus bill that included the pay freeze was withdrawn from Senate consideration. But the measure reappeared in a continuing resolution bill designed to keep the government running during the budget process, and President Barack Obama signed it.: Other measures under discussion now could extend the freeze into a third year. : Google won a major victory in its ongoing battle to have its cloud offerings considered alongside Microsoft’s for federal contracts. : Some contracting officers seem to favor Microsoft by default, but Google is working hard to show that there are other serious contenders to consider.