President Barack Obama’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery, after the jump.
Browsing: Agency Management
The Center for Public Integrity thinks so. It published a new report today citing what it says are more than 125 systemic federal government failures during the Bush administration. The stories highlighted in the report have been well publicized. Among them: The failure of the government to regulate Wall Street. FEMA’s failure to assist state and local governments following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Several aspects of the execution of the Iraq War and Global War on Terror, such as intelligence gathering, detainee torture, caring for vets and managing contracts. Cronyism at the Minerals Management Service, Justice Department, HUD and…
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced yesterday he believes President-elect Barack Obama may support a four-day work week for federal employees. Such an idea has been bounced around for months, and some agencies already allow employees to telework or adjust their schedules to allow for an extra day off a week. So, readers, would you welcome a 10-hour, four-day work week? Reactions I’ve received via e-mail are mixed. Some say they’d work harder in exchange for a three-day weekend every week, while others said the alternate work schedule would ease traffic in the Washington, D.C. area. Others criticized the proposal,…
President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday on CBS’s “Sixty Minutes” he would start making Cabinet picks “soon.” Soon it is. In just the three days since that interview aired, several names have been reported as likely candidates for key administration posts: Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office, to be director of the Office of Management and Budget. Eric Holder Jr., former number two at the Justice Department, to be Attorny General. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to be secretary of State, although it is still unclear whether Obama has actually offered the job to her, even after conflict-of-interest issues…
President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team yesterday announced a roster of 19 heavyweights who will conduct top-to-bottom reviews of federal agencies beginning next week. The agency review teams will complete a thorough review of departments, agencies and commissions to provide Obama and his advisers information need to make strategic policy, budgetary and personnel decisions prior to the Jan. 20 inauguration. As this press release  from the Obama transition Web site illustrates, most of the names should ring a bell to employees who were around during the previous Democratic administration under President Clinton. There’s Sally Katzen, who headed the Office of Information…
Tomorrow the transition starts. But the Bush Administration isn’t over yet. It is still plugging away on its initiatives, as evidenced by the fact the Office of Management and Budget posted the latest President’s Management Agenda scorecard on Nov. 3. The stoplight-style scorecard, which may or may not survive transition to the new president, has an abundance of green these days, indicating success in achieving President Bush’s management priorities. According to the scorecard, agencies did very well at achieving their human capital and performance improvement goals this quarter. Commercial services management, e-gov, and financial performance were a bit tougher for…
A curious memo may halt spending on many earmarks intended for federal agencies. OMB Director Jim Nussle issued a memo Oct. 23 detailing conditions that must be met for agencies to spend earmarks embedded in the fiscal year 2009 continuing resolution, which also contains the Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans’ Affairs appropriations. In order for an agency to allocate funding for an earmark, the earmark must meet three conditions. They are: 1. It must have been in the FY 2008 appropriations bill; 2. It must continue in 2009 and beyond (no one-time, non-recurring projects or grants); and 3. The affected…
Federal agencies have done a commendable job of eliminating the use of Social Security numbers wherever possible, according to a new report by the President’s Identity Theft Task Force. The Social Security Administration no longer uses the nine-digit code — the holy grail for identity thieves — on personnel forms for its own employees. The Defense Department is removing Social Security numbers from military ID cards. And the IRS only lists the last four digits on all federal tax lien documents. But the nation’s counties have been slower to react. An astonishing 85 percent of the largest counties make records…
As far as federal advertising goes, you have to admit the Federal Communications Commission’s announcement that it is sponsoring a race car to advertise the mandatory conversion to digital television is pretty creative. FCC spent $350,000 on the sponsorship that will debut on car No. 38, which will be driven by David Gilliland at the Oct. 19 NASCAR race at the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. The transition message will also appear on car No. 38 during races on Nov. 9 and Nov. 16. Given the current economic crisis, which many say  hurts NASCAR’s bottom line, some cynics might view this as a new kind of government bailout. But…