Author Archive

Eric Katz

Senior Correspondent

Eric Katz
Eric Katz writes about federal agency operations and management. His deep coverage of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Postal Service has earned him frequent guest spots on national radio and television news programs. Eric joined Government Executive in the summer of 2012 and previously worked for The Financial Times. He is a graduate of The George Washington University.
Updated Policy

How federal agencies are responding to the Trump assassination attempt

FBI, Secret Service and others are taking a lead role and deploying personnel in response to Saturday's shooting.

People

The major takeaways for federal employees from the first presidential debate

President Biden and former President Trump clashed over the role of government and their vision for how to manage agencies.

Policy

VA says it's seeing more patients than ever and cutting wait times for them

Staffing and productivity gains will allow VA to continue functioning more efficiently while avoiding burnout, official says.

Policy

Congress reaches fiscal 2024 funding deal, new stopgaps in hopes of averting shutdown

Lawmakers must act in a hastened and united fashion to pass the new CR before funding expires this week.

People

The jobs boom is hitting the federal sector, too

Federal agencies added 11,000 jobs in January and hit a 20-year high for non-census years.

Updated Policy

Congress averts shutdown, punts funding debate into March

Both the Senate and House approved a six-week stopgap on Thursday, just one day before a shutdown deadline.

Policy

Senate starts process to pass more stopgap funding measures to avoid a government shutdown

Facing a potential shutdown at the end of the week, Congress aims to push the deadlines into early March.

Updated Policy

Congress pivots to full-year funding bills after bipartisan agreement on spending levels

Deal would avoid major cuts but appropriators have just 10 days to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Digital Government

You can now easily search through every executive in federal government

A modernized 'Plum Book' will provide more updated, accurate information on top agency officials.

Modernization

State Department restores passport processing to pre-pandemic levels

A hiring surge and mandatory overtime has brought passport processing down to its lowest level in years.

Policy

Congress averts shutdown after Senate approves stopgap funding bill

President Biden is expected to sign the measure to keep agencies funded past Friday.

People

House punts effort to impeach Biden cabinet secretary

Some Republicans joined Democrats to postpone the exceedingly rare effort.

People

VA attributes record-breaking year to massive increases in hiring

The department will now focus on retaining those employees through various incentives and process improvements, officials say.

People

Biden seeks federal hiring surge in new $100B emergency funding request

A variety of agencies would collectively add nearly 6,000 employees if Congress provides the supplemental funding.

People

Congress temporarily averts shutdown, but agencies still feel the pain

"Everything just stops," employees say of the devastating impacts of near shutdowns.

Policy

Congress averts shutdown with a 45-day stopgap funding bill

Lawmakers passed a bipartisan measure just hours before a funding lapse was set to furlough hundreds of thousands of federal employees.

Policy

Biden administration begins cautioning feds to prepare for a shutdown

Degree of organization varies across government as agencies note a funding lapse could still be avoided.