Everyone hates the IRS, right? Bunch of pencil-pushing money-grubbers whose goal in life is to squeeze every last dime from the poor taxpayer. That’s the old stereotype, anyway. But a new poll from the Pew Research Center shows that over the last decade or so, the tax-collecting agency has improved in public perception more than any of the other 12 agencies included in the survey. The ratings bump could be a result of new, user-friendly online tax software. Or it could just reflect the fact that the IRS was starting from such a low point — its favorable ratings were…
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A couple months ago, I told you about a contest to find the most entertaining and creative video extolling the government’s online information portal, www.usa.gov. Well, the results are in, and the winning entry might have you wondering if punk rockers Green Day have hung up their “American Idiot” creed for a pro-government bent. No, Green Day hasn’t sold out. But the rocking tune from contest winner Peter Sullivan, father of two from Nashville, Tenn., proves that it’s possible to write a song about looking up government information online that might actually appeal to the cool kids. Sullivan won $2,500 from the…
The Veterans Affairs Department and U.S. Postal Service are testing a program to allow veterans to mail back expired and unused prescription drugs for safe disposal. Veterans will receive special postage-paid envelopes and instructions with their prescriptions. Veterans with leftover medication can use the envelopes to mail back the drugs at any mailbox or post office. The drugs will be delivered to disposal sites approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and Drug Enforcement Agency and disposed of through incineration, chemical or thermal processes. The agencies announced the program in an April 8 news release. The pilot program will start with…
It’s very rare that you get to live your dream. I lived my dream. I was the president of the Federal Managers Association. – Outgoing — and choked up — FMA President Darryl Perkinson this evening.
Mike Quigley is for the birds — literally. The first-term congressman introduced legislation Tuesday that would require bird-safe materials and design features be used to the maximum extent possible on all new and renovated buildings maintained by the General Services Administration. The bill is similar to legislation the Illinois Democrat championed in 2008 when he was on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. I am proud to build upon the work we did in Cook County to promote bird-safe building and spearhead an initiative at the national level that will make sure our tall buildings are not safety hazards. This bill…
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…
Employees at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute will be moving into new digs in 2013. The General Services Administration announced Wednesday that it’s awarded a build-to-suit lease for 575,000 square feet of office space for the agency, whose employees now are scattered among five buildings. The JBG Companies of Washington will develop two facilities, connected by a central atrium, at the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center in Montgomery County, Md., for the agency. JBG is leasing land for the project from Johns Hopkins University. The facilities will be built to achieve the second-highest rating from the U.S. Green Building…
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo today announced the arrival of two prime candidates for the Daily Squee: A pair of clouded leopard cubs that were born on Valentine’s day. To hear the Zoo tell it, the birth of these little guys — or gals, it’s hard to tell — is something of a minor miracle. The breeding of clouded leopards has been a challenge, primarily due to male aggression, decreased mating activity between paired animals and high cub mortality. […] Since the cubs born in the Thailand breeding program are only one or two generations removed from the wild, their genes are…
Earlier I wrote about how the Environmental Protection Agency was asking for the public’s help in making the agency more open and transparent. It turns out that EPA isn’t alone. Twenty-five agencies have launched special websites through which people can submit and vote on ideas for how those agencies can expand and improve online access to information, better solicit feedback from the public and better engage with groups both inside and outside goverment. Twenty-three of the agencies are using a web platform developed by the General Services Administration to engage the public. By offering a single solution, GSA made it easier for…
David Letterman’s crack investigative reporting team uncovered numerous surprises in the $3.8 trillion federal budget that somehow evaded our notice. . .