The Treasury Department’s Bureau of Public Debt is looking for a contractor to run a couple of three-hour discussions on “Humor in the Workplace.” According to this FedBizOpps notice, which topped the Drudge Report today, the programs will “discuss the power of humor in the workplace, the close relationship between humor and stress, and why humor is one of the most important ways that we communicate in business and office life.” The requirements: Participants shall experience demonstrations of cartoons being created on the spot. The contractor shall have the ability to create cartoons on the spot about BPD jobs. The…
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Federal agencies having a tough time meeting the plethora of green government mandates should take a close look at the 15 federal teams who have been recognized this year for spearheading environmentally sustainable practices at their agencies. Winners of the 2009 White House Closing the Circle Awards — handed out Wednesday during the middle of the three-day 2009 Federal Environmental Symposium East in Bethesda, Md. –Â Â are demonstrating best practices in areas such as recycling, green purchasing and fuel conservation. The big winner was the Air Force, which received four awards for initiatives under way at local bases and headquarters. The…
Because there’s really nothing more enjoyable on a Friday afternoon than reading a document (pdf) entitled “The Supervisory Capital Assessment Program: Design and Implementation.” It’s a summary, from the Federal Reserve, of how the government conducted its “stress tests” of the nation’s 19 largest banks. The results of those stress tests are expected to go public on May 4. One thing that immediately jumps out at me: Treasury had just 150 employees working on these stress tests. If that sounds like a lot, consider that they were spread across 19 banks — and these are huge banks, each with more…
Elizabeth Warren, the chair of the congressional TARP oversight panel, thinks so. She told the Senate Finance committee this morning that Treasury refuses to articulate even its most basic goals for the TARP program: We do not seem to be a priority for the Treasury Department…Â What we’re asking for is not rocket science here. We’re not asking for something extraordinary… we’re asking for the much broader articulation of what the plan is, transparency in the goals and the execution and strategy… we need Treasury’s commitment. I’m doing some reporting on financial regulation this week, and Warren’s complaint is becoming a…
Tim Geithner is not having much luck finding a deputy. According to ABC News, his third pick for deputy treasury secretary — H. Rodgin Cohen, a partner in a New York law firm — has withdrawn his name from consideration. No word on why, just that a “problem” came up late in the vetting process. Geithner (who is arguably the most important Cabinet secretary right now) is supposed to have 17 confirmed deputies. He currently has zero.
Should the taxman call to “tell you how it will be,” at least you’ll know it’s a fed. That’s because the Internal Revenue Service terminated its controversial outsourcing of tax collection Thursday. An agency program review found tax debt collection was cheaper and more lucrative when performed by federal employees. IRS commissioner Doug Shulman said: IRS employees have more options available to them to resolve difficult collection cases Contracts with two private debt collection firms expired March 6. The agency will hire 1,000 new tax collectors in fiscal 2009 to target collection on areas of greatest need. IRS will recruit displaced…
The Treasury Department unveiled guidelines (pdf) today for its bank “stress tests” (I have more details in this week’s paper). Seems to me the guidelines will put some federal employees — namely, the bank regulators — in a tough position. Here’s why. According to Treasury’s guidelines, regulators have to assess the 19 biggest U.S. banks using two economic scenarios. One of them is the “standard” scenario — what most economists think will happen to our economy over the next two years. The other is a sort of worst-case scenario. If banks fail the tests — basically if they have too many questionable…
Days before he presents his first budget, President Barack Obama Tuesday night pledged to restore accountability to the budgeting process and cut outdated programs. “This budget looks ahead ten years and accounts for spending that was left out under the old rules — and for the first time, that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price,” Obama told a joint session of Congress. He added that his proposed 2010 budget will would end no-bid contracts in Iraq, as well as…
We bring you House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s take on the new $1.5 trillion financial rescue program unveiled today by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “What an era in which we live where a serious question can be asked whether $1.5 trillion is enough,” he said Tuesday after a reporter asked if $1.5 trillion would solve our economic woes.
Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner just unveiled the Obama administration’s plan to revise the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the financial system bailout. We’re calling it “TARP 2.0.” A few of the highlights that impact federal agencies: The Treasury Department will “stress-test” banks. Presumably this is to ensure that banks receiving money through TARP 2.0 are actually solvent. There’s serious concern that many of the largest banks in America are insolvent. Treasury and the Federal Reserve will create a “bad bank” to buy toxic securities with a mix of public and private capital. The government will guarantee a larger percentage of Small…