Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich tonight repeatedly called for a massive overhaul of the federal personnel system during tonight’s GOP debate in Arizona. Said Gingrich: I agree generally with the need to reform government. I think that if we were prepared to repeal the 130-year-old civil service laws and go to a modern management system, we could save a minimum of $500 billion a year with a better system. A few minutes later, Gingrich returned to that theme, and asked, “What would a modern system be like? A modern system would be totally different. … It is possible to modernize…
Monthly Archives: February, 2012
Are you a Defense Department employee who was transferred into, and then out of, the now-defunct National Security Personnel System? Were you placed into a General Schedule grade that was lower than your original grade, or did your new GS grade not take into account a promotion you received under NSPS? Federal Times would like to hear from you. E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com to talk. If you’d like to talk anonymously, that’s fine.
The Smithsonian broke ground on the National Museum of African American History and Culture Wednesday – capping off a years-long process with a ceremony at the corner of 14th street and Constitution avenue. The 380,000-square-foot museum will sit on a five-acre site near the Washington Monument and will cost about $500 million to build. “With this groundbreaking we move closer toward creating a museum to make manifest the dreams of many generations,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the museum. The museum was created in 2003 by an Act of Congress, establishing it as part of the Smithsonian…
Regulations.gov, the federal government’s main pathway for online rulemaking, has gotten a user-friendly makeover, the Office of Management and Budget announced this week. The revamp follows President Obama’s executive order last year promoting more public participation and includes “innovative new search tools, social media connections and better access to regulatory data,” Cass Sunstein, administrator of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said in an official blog post. You can read Sunstein’s post here; one innovation that he highlights is the ability to search regulations by broad categories such as as “defense, law enforcement and security” and “banking and financial.” …
Barack Obama may be angling for a second career in rhythm and blues (if this whole “leader-of-the-free-world” thing doesn’t pan out). Last night, he took the mic at the White House’s all-star blues tribute night and sang a chorus of “Sweet Home Chicago” with BB King. The AP said that during the finale, Mick Jagger held the mic out “almost by way of command,” and Obama evidently couldn’t resist. Blues guitarist Buddy Guy also pushed Obama by pointing out that he sang a line from “Let’s Stay Together” last month at an Apollo Theater fundraiser, and said, “You gotta keep…
Postal Regulatory Commission Ruth Goldway has replied to a senator’s inquiry about her travel practices, publicly posting her response and a host of supporting documents on the agency’s web site. In a letter last week to Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., Goldway attached a summary of her trips since becoming PRC chair in August 2009, and for good measure included itineraries and agendas, a synopsis of the commission’s travel policies and a listing of travel by her two immediate predecessors as chairman. “This information demonstrates that commission travel is in support of statutory obligations, performed in a cost-efficient manner and benefits…
There’s been no official announcement (to the best of FedLine’s knowledge, anyway), but the federal government now has a new top performance official, at least temporarily. “Acting chief performance officer” was the title that Lisa Brown used in a Friday post on the Office of Management and Budget’s official blog. Brown, whose Obama administration assignments have hitherto included assistant to the president and staff secretary, helped assemble the White House’s blueprint for reorganization of federal trade and export agencies. Until recently, the federal chief performance officer was Jeff Zients, who also served as OMB’s deputy director for management. But Zients…
A Defense Department board led by Chief Information Officer Teri Takai will serve as the “single senior governance forum” to address information technology, IT acquisition and cyber issues across DoD. In a Feb. 12 memo, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter included a revised charter for the DoD CIO Executive Board, which he said would “re-focus and strengthen” the board to provide leadership and guidance on certain departmentwide issues. The memo, effective immediately, follows recommendations by the independent Defense Business Board urging DoD senior leadership to give Takai more clout. The charter gives the board authority to “decide on matters brought before it,…
The administration on Friday launched a new beta website called BusinessUSA.gov to simplify online interaction between businesses and the government. BusinessUSA.gov matches “businesses with the services relevant to them, regardless of where the information is located or which agency’s website, call center, or office they go to for help,” federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel said in a blog post Friday. The website is currently in a beta version but will evolve to incorporate user feedback. Business owners can browse the site and customize their search results to receive information about topics of interest, such as federal contracting, grants, or opportunities that meet…
UPDATED: As expected, the bill extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance easily passed Congress today. Federal unions, employee groups, and fed-friendly lawmakers are enraged, however, because the bill would drastically hike future feds’ pension contributions from 0.8 percent to 3.1 percent. The bill would also make future lawmakers and their staffs receive the same pension rate as everyday feds. But Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., who has been pushing hard to cut Congress’ more-generous pensions and increase feds’ retirement contributions, voted against the bill. Said Ross: We should stop congressional pension perks because it is the right thing to…