People

Senate panel passes law to prevent shutdowns as spending crisis looms

While Democrats and the White House fight over spending caps, some lawmakers are looking for ways to make a shutdown more painful for leaders in the executive branch and on Capitol Hill.

People

Shanahan out as Pentagon chief; Army Secretary Esper takes over top job

In a tweet, President Donald Trump announced that acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan was resigning and withdrawing his name from consideration to hold the top Pentagon job on an acting basis. Trump announced that Army Secretary Mark Esper is taking over as acting defense secretary.

People

No merger, but a long to-do list for OPM from the House

House Appropriators want the Office of Personnel Management to improve on its core duties including retirement processing without support from a planned merger with the General Services Administration.

People

Oversight Dems press FLRA chief on union, FEVS scores

Democrats on the Government Operations subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Reform hammered FLRA Chairwoman Colleen Duffy Kiko for her decision to stop recognizing the Union of Authorities Employees last December.

People

Funding bill looks to block USDA relocations

The House appropriations bill funding the Department of Agriculture nixes plans to move two offices outside of the National Capitol Region.

People

VA pushes back on health record oversight bill

The Department of Veterans Affairs is opposing a Senate plan to establish an advisory board to conduct oversight of the agency's $16 billion, 10-year plan to implement a commercial electronic health record system.

People

New ID policy looks to leverage government credentials

An updated credentialing policy from the White House aims to make PIV cards interoperable across agencies and tap federal identifiers like Social Security numbers to secure digital transactions.

People

HHS picks Arrieta as new CIO

Jose Arrieta, who has spearheaded the department's blockchain efforts, replaces Beth Killoran.

People

Defense Digital hunts tech talent with new recruiting contract

The $7 million DDS pilot, which extends to April 2020, will target candidates with backgrounds in computer science, product management, and user experience design.

People

TSA turnover alarms lawmakers

Security screeners at the Transportation Security Administration post some of the lowest satisfaction scores and have the highest attrition rates of any government employees.

People

Thornberry's proposes consequences for DOD's failed reforms

A legislative proposal for the 2020 defense spending bill threatens to restrict funds to certain Defense Department offices if the organization fails to implement business reforms.

People

OMB working on gov-wide cloud effort

An emphasis on category management includes plans to develop civilian agency version of the Pentagon's productivity and communications cloud contract.

People

Senators drill in on OPM-GSA reorg at confirmation hearing

Senators questioned President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Office of Personnel Management about workforce issues including a planned reorg that would divide OPM's functions between the White House and the General Services Administration.

People

DOD shifts employee training to OPM's USA Learning

The Department of Defense is moving the management of its training courses to the Office of Personnel Management and the government's centralized learning and development program.

People

Watchdogs warn on DHS vacancies

Frequent turnover and persistent vacancies across the Department of Homeland Security are limiting the ability of employees to carry the agency's myriad missions.

People

MSPB seeks more money to handle massive backlog

To address its massive and growing backlog, the panel that reviews federal workplace complaints is asking to "bypass" the White House's budget request.

People

HHS teams up with USDS for IT hires

The Department of Health and Human Services is teaming up with the US Digital Service to hire for IT roles to advance health care modernization.

People

House Dems oppose White House reorg plan

The White House's proposal to reorganize and shutter the Office of Personnel Management hit a major snag, with House Oversight Democrats opposing any funding of the plan.

People

Trump administration wants FLRA to hear workforce order cases

Union attorneys were surprised by government arguments in a court of appeals that their objections to three executive orders on workforce issues should have been brought to Federal Labor Relations Authority rather than to federal court.

People

New bills look to lock in health coverage for feds during shutdowns

House and Senate lawmakers are teaming up on a new bill to make sure federal employee health benefits are not interrupted in the event of a government shutdown.