A trio of federal agency heads strapped on hard hats and lent their support to Sunday’s episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which featured two building projects just outside the nation’s capital. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Education Secretary Arne Duncan joined show host Ty Pennington for a tour of the two projects, in which the popular ABC program built a new home and community center that will be used to provide after-school programs to at-risk youths in Prince George’s County, Md. Chu praised the projects for incorporating green technologies such as solar panels, bamboo floors,…
The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein had an interesting column yesterday about Senate gridlock and how it could be forcing President Obama and agency heads to stick with people they’d like to fire. Money quote: The problem gets worse as it goes deeper. It’s not just that [Treasury Secretary Timothy] Geithner can’t be fired. It’s that he, in turn, can’t fire anybody. Treasury is understaffed, and there’s little reason to believe that the Senate will consider its nominees anytime soon. If Geithner is displeased with the performance of an appointed subordinate, he can’t ponder whether America would be better off with…
Does your department have an innovative and successful training program? Has it measurably improved your department’s performance? Then your department might have a shot at a Deming Award. But you’ll have to move fast — the nomination period closes this Friday. The Agriculture Department’s Graduate School awards the W. Edwards Deming Award annually to a federal government organization or a civilian or uniformed branch of the military that has a great training and workforce development program. To qualify, a program must: Have begun no earlier than Feb. 19, 2007 — three years prior to the nomination deadline. Be based on outcomes…
Five percent of the energy federal agencies use this year must come from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass, under the 2005 Energy Policy Act. That’s up from 3 percent in 2009. To help agencies get there, the Environmental Protection Agency has a nifty mapping tool on its website that lists available green power resources by state and links to the utility companies’ websites. The nation’s capital, for instance, has six options that include wind or landfill gas in the energy mix. California offers a dozen green power alternatives, including energy generated by wind, solar, water and landfill gas.…
The Office of Personnel Management just announced the federal government will open under a two-hour delay on Friday. Anyone who can’t make it into work can take unscheduled leave. If you get to work any more than two hours late, you’ll be charged annual leave or leave without pay for the additional period of absence. But if you take unscheduled leave, you’ll be charged leave for the entire day — you won’t get the same two hours’ grace period other feds will get. If you telework or are an emergency employee, you’ve got to start working on time. OPM Director…
The Social Security Administration is adding 38 more diseases to its Compassionate Allowances program, which allows those diagnosed with specific conditions to have their claims for benefits expedited. The original 50 conditions – 25 cancers and 25 rare diseases – were announced in October 2008, and the list allows the agency to electronically search for and make speedy decisions for “the most obviously disabled individuals,” SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue said in a Feb. 11 news release. The new conditions include early-onset Alzheimer’s and several forms of muscular dystrophy. SSA will begin electronically identifying these 38 new conditions March 1. Said…
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…
The federal government isn’t going to make Washington-area employees come in to work on Presidents Day, Feb. 15, to make up for the snow days this week. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry refuted that rumor in an online chat this morning hosted by the Washington Post. Berry also said there will be no furloughs to cover the cost of the government shutdown. The government has closed all four days so far this week, as well as a half day on Feb. 5. Berry said he is going to consult with the National Weather Service and local government officials at 6…
Just think, snowed-in feds — should Washington D.C. break its snowfall record next year, perhaps you can catch up on episodes of Ron Howard’s planned Internal Revenue Service comedy. It’ll almost be like you’re back in your offices! FedLine has blogged about Howard’s planned Fox series before, which will be shot “documentary style” like NBC’s The Office and Parks & Recreation. Now we’re learning that Howard has started casting the show, with Numb3rs star David Krumholtz in the lead. Krumholtz will lead the action in an IRS regional office, according to Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly. What say you,…
Federal researchers have been hard at work trying to develop alternate sources of clean renewable energy, and yesterday they announced a major breakthrough in their efforts. Scientists from the Agriculture Department and the Energy Department’s Joint Genome Institute for the first time have sequenced the genes of a wild grass species. The research, which is published in the current issue of the journal Nature, will help researchers develop grasses specifically tailored for use as biofuel, said Molly Jahn, Agriculture’s acting undersecretary for research, education and economics. Energy security looms as one of the most important scientific challenges of this century.…