In another outstanding piece of investigative journalism, the Daily Show’s Jason Jones uncovers the vast conspiracy linking the U.S. Postal Service, the Catholic Church, and Reservoir Dogs star Harvey Keitel. Read between the lines, people. [HTML1]
Browsing: Agencies
UPDATE: The White House has formally announced Harding’s selection. From President Obama’s statement: I am confident that Bob’s talent and expertise will make him a tremendous asset in our ongoing efforts to bolster security and screening measures at our airports. I can think of no one more qualified than Bob to take on this important job, and I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead. ORIGINAL POST: CNN and other news organizations are reporting that the White House is going to tap retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Harding to head the Transportation Security Administration. Under…
FBI employees now scattered in four locations in the Phoenix area will move into a new 200,000-square-foot office building about two years from now. The General Services Administration announced Wednesday it has selected the Phoenix office of construction firm Ryan Companies to build the $62 million facility. The building will be owned by Ryan and leased to GSA for use by the FBI under a 20-year lease. Many companies apparently competed for the build-to-suit lease project, indicating the high level of interest in government projects in a time of economic uncertainty in the construction industry. John Strittmatter, president of Ryan’s…
Here’s a story crying out for the sound of a sad trombone. The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday suspended an air traffic controller at JFK Airport and his supervisor for allowing two children visiting the airport’s tower last month to direct at least five planes. The FAA has suspended all unofficial visits to towers and radar rooms while the incident is being investigated, and Administrator Randy Babbitt stressed that “this lapse in judgment not only violated FAA’s own policies, but common sense standards … [and] does not reflect the true caliber of our workforce.” And in case anyone thought otherwise, the National Air Traffic Controllers…
Roughly 2,000 Transportation Department employees who had been furloughed earlier this week were ordered to return to work Wednesday morning. The order came late Tuesday night after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., relented and allowed a vote on a bill that would extend unemployment benefits and provide transportation funding. Bunning objected that the bill would add $10 billion to the deficit and wanted Congress to find a way to pay it, and began blocking it Feb. 25. The blockage meant Transportation didn’t have the funds to pay employees at the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic…
Last week I wrote about a video contest being sponsored by the General Services Administration, which is offering $2,500 to the person who best extols the virtues of the government’s information portal, www.usa.gov, through a 30- to 90-second video. Not to be outdone, the Environmental Protection Agency is also getting into the act. EPA yesterday launched a contest seeking videos that raise awareness about environmental justice, which EPA defines as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and…
In another red-letter day for the world’s greatest deliberative body, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., reportedly flipped the middle finger to a reporter who kept asking him about his blockage of a bill that, among other things, today resulted in the furlough of about 2,000 Transportation Department employees. According to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl: “Excuse me! This is a Senators only elevator!” Bunning thundered. I tried again to ask his reasons for blocking the bill, Bunning said he already explained his reasons last Thursday, when he said he wanted the $10 billion cost of the bill to be paid for, rather than…
If you’re one of the nearly 2,000 Transportation Department employees who was furloughed this morning, Federal Times would like to hear from you. How did you find out about the furlough? When did you first hear this was a possibility? How is it going to affect you? E-mail me or my colleague Gregg Carlstrom at slosey@federaltimes.com or gcarlstrom@federaltimes.com. We won’t publish your name if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.
Tune into News Channel 8’s Federal News Tonight this evening to catch an interview with yours truly. I’ll be speaking about the Pentagon’s plans to end the controversial National Security Personnel System and how some Defense Department employees could end up getting hurt in the process. Federal News Tonight is on at at 7:30 p.m. in the Washington area. My segment will air sometime between 7:40 and 7:55 p.m.
(Updated below) After years of a stagnant economy, furloughs are nothing new to private-sector workers — including newspaper reporters! — and even many state and local employees. But now they’re affecting the federal government. It’s not because of the economy, though. The Senate needed to pass legislation last week to extend federal highway and transit programs — and the legislation was blocked by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., who said he objected to the bill because it wasn’t deficit-neutral. The legislation stalled. The result? The Transportation Department has to furlough nearly 2,000 employees, starting today, and ending… whenever the bill gets…