The Defense Department’s plans to close Joint Forces Command as well as other cost-cutting moves will get a look-see from the Senate Armed Services Committee, according to a Monday letter from the panel’s chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., to Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. In the letter, which Webb’s office released Tuesday, Levin said he would seek to schedule a hearing after Congress reconvenes in September. While Levin said he shares Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ goals of reducing ‘”duplication, overhead and excess in the defense enterprise,'” his “far-reaching initiatives . . . deserve close scrutiny by our committee.” Gates announced the…
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It appears that the Obama administration trusts the nation’s governors to keep a secret. Sort of. In a newly issued executive order on access to classified national security information, the administration said that governors can see such information without undergoing a background investigation, but first have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and can’t have any “disqualifying conduct” in the eyes of the clearance-granting official. Their clearances also can’t go beyond the “Secret” level, except on a case-by-case basis. “To my knowledge, this is a new provision,” said Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists who…
Beth Daley, the director of investigations at the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, died yesterday after a seven-year fight with breast cancer. POGO said one of the highlights of Daley’s career was her work exposing the oil industry’s underpayment of royalties from drilling on federal and Indian lands. POGO’s lawsuit ended up netting $440 million for the federal government in a case that still reverberates today. “Beth’s death is a crushing loss for the POGO family,” Executive Director Danielle Brian said in a statement released today. “Both as a colleague and as a friend, Beth’s fierce passion for POGO’s…
Members of of the U.S. Postal Service’s largest union will take a break Tuesday from their national convention in Detroit to rally in support of continued six-day-a week mail service. In a news release, the American Postal Workers Union said that more than 3,000 members will gather at a downtown park where President William Burrus and others will deliver “a spirited denunciation” of USPS plans to end most Saturday delivery. The Rev. Jesse Jackson will also speak, according to a union spokesman. That plan, which is supposed to take effect Oct. 1 if Congress doesn’t block it, is what the…
Federal Times is proud to announce that we won four “Azbee” awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors this afternoon. Gold award in the government coverage category (national) for Stephen Losey’s stories “Faked investigations mount as deadlines tighten” and “Race still a factor in DoD pay raises” and Gregg Carlstrom’s story “Why long-term care premiums are rising.” Silver award in the government coverage category (national) for “Getting to ‘net-zero’ energy use” by Tim Kauffman, “Agencies still miss small business goals” by Elise Castelli, and “Paid to do nothing” by Gregg Carlstrom. Gold award in the special section category…
Check it out! Federal Times is offering a live streaming broadcast from FedScoop’s annual federal IT conference going on now at the Newseum. This day-long event brings together 250 federal CIOs, CTOs and other senior executives as well as high-tech industry leaders to exchange best practices and identify ways to collaborate together to achieve these common goals. To view the live broadcast, click here and enjoy. Among the featured speakers at the event are: Andrew McLaughlin United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer Executive office of the President / OSTP Craig Newmark Founder Craigslist.org Dave L. McClure Associate Administrator, Citizen Services…
The General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service has announced a “hiring blitz” — FAS says it wants to add 200 new employees by the end of September. The agency has been trying to increase its acquisition work force, and the jobs seem to be focused on contracting, project management, and analysis. Click the link above for more info.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims discrimination cases were up in 2009. So were cases that resulted in a finding of illegal discrimination. What are your theories as to why? Join the discussion in our forums.
Peter Orszag was serenaded this morning following his final public speech as Office of Management and Budget chief, but the a cappella number was anything but a love song. “Peter Orszag and Larry Summers–they’re fascist pigs, they’re fascist pigs,” intoned a member of the Brookings Institution audience to the tune of “Funiculi, Funicula.” Despite efforts to shush him, the man–who had first identified himself as a supporter of perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche–persevered to the end (“Obama’s health care plan is Hitler approved”) before being eased out an auditorium exit. Orszag had actually given the man the opening by calling…
Monday marked the 75th anniversary of the law creating the Federal Register, and the compilers of that bureaucratic bible celebrated with the launch of Federal Register 2.0, billed as a more user-friendly online prototype. Surf to the web site, and you’ll find the same scintillating potpourri of official notices, rule-making actions and presidential documents, but in a new format that breaks down daily entries by “Money” “Environment,” and four other categories. It also features a “What’s Hot” section and boasts “improved search and navigation tools to guide readers to the most popular topics and relevant documents,” according to a news…