It was a busy week. Congress finally passed a budget for fiscal 2014 that includes a slew of new provisions and changes in funding levels across the government. The NSA has been under fire for the collection of phone records, metadata and even text messages. The governor of New Jersey is under continuing investigation because of the closure of a bridge that snarled traffic for four days. So if you missed a few things that is certainly understandable. Which is why we have compiled a list of stories that are interesting or important that may have flown under your radar.…
Monthly Archives: January, 2014
Four companies have been awarded work under the Department of Homeland Security’s $6 billion cybersecurity contract. Winners include Knowledge Consulting Group, Northrop Grumman, Technica and HP. The RFQ was for continuous monitoring tools, not services. The goal was to increase or extend software licenses that agencies already have in place, at a discounted price. Read more here.
Federal employees may be one step closer to being able to access transgender care through their federal health insurance coverage. The Office of Personnel Management is currently evaluating the exclusion of transgender care in the federal employee health benefit program, according to the agency. But the agency said that no decision has been made yet and that when it does come to a decision it will be reflected in the coverage options for future health care plans. While some company and local government health plans cover care for transgender policy-holders, the Federal government does not and specifically excludes transition-related care…
For career U.S. Postal Service employees, the last few years have brought an unrelenting wave of cutbacks. In its latest annual report, the agency furnishes some eye-opening numbers on how the downsizing has affected different segments of its workforce. The overall career headcount declined by more than one-fifth from 2009 to 2013 (surely one of the sharpest drops in USPS history). But the ranks of clerks and nurses plummeted by one-third and the number of employees classified as “professional, administration and technical” fell almost as steeply. Virtually all of the cuts, it should be noted, were accomplished without reductions-in-force. The one sector to grow during that…
The Navy has proposed new rules that would strengthen the protections of sunken Navy ships by establishing a streamlined permitting process for approved activities at sunken ships and by establishing a $100,000 fine for violations, according to a notice published Monday in the federal register. “With stricter enforcement provisions acting as a deterrent and a management policy based on the principle of in situ preservation, the proposed rule makes the protection of war-related and other maritime graves, the preservation of historical resources, the proper handling of safety and environmental hazards, and the safeguarding national security interests more effective, efficient, and…
The U.S. Postal Service continued to keep a comparatively tight lid in 2012 on senior executive salaries, according to its recently released annual report to Congress. By law, the Postal Service has to list all employees whose pay exceeded that of a Cabinet secretary. For calendar 2012, that threshold was $199,700; a dozen USPS executives and officers made more than that, down from 13 in 2011 and 38 in 2010, according to the official rundown. Here’s the 2012 list (found on p. 66 of the annual report): Paul Vogel, president, digital solutions, $312,175* ** Pat Donahoe, postmaster general and chief…
Whatever the federal government’s pluses and minuses, it is usually pretty good at avoiding language that will offend a particular group’s sensibilities. So some Federal Register readers may find it jarring to find two agencies using the term, “mental defective,” in notices set for publication this week. The term, considered useless and derogatory by advocates for the mentally ill, surfaces in a Justice Department filing seeking to clarify definitions of people prohibited from “receiving, possessing, shipping or transporting firearms” under the 1968 Gun Control Act. “The Department recognizes that the term ‘mental defective’ is outdated, but it is included in the statute and…
At the end of the day even the combined military might of the United States could not stand up to the relentless onslaught of cute, adorable sea otters. What on earth am I talking about? Just a few paragraphs in a 1,100 page bill. On June 14 the House passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act which – among many other provisions – weakened some of the protections afforded to sea otters near several Navy installations, including Naval Base Ventura County and Naval Base Coronado in southern California. The legislation would have designated some of the coastal waters…
No Friday snow day for feds in the D.C. region. That’s the word from Office of Personnel Management; although the weather remains exceedingly messy late Thursday night, it’s evidently not messy enough to warrant mass closings Friday. As usual in these situations, federal employees have the option of unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework. For anyone wanting to see the official notice, here’s the link: http://www.opm.gov/.