Government Executive - Authors - Chanin Knight

The Government Is Actually Not Growing When It Comes to Earnings

Kellie Lunney and Chanin Knight — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:41:21 -0400

The federal civilian government was the only industry that experienced a drop in earnings in 2013 – a $6.7 billion decrease, to be precise -- according to new statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Unpaid employee furloughs related to sequestration, which began in March 2013, are partially to blame for the overall 2.24 percent decline in civilian federal government earnings last year. The government saw a smaller drop of $815 million in earnings between 2011 and 2012. The across-the-board annual civilian pay freeze, which took effect in January 2011 and ended in December 2013, also could be a factor in the decline in earnings during those years. What didn’t have an effect? The government shutdown, which lasted from Oct. 1, 2013, through October 16, 2013, and resulted in the furloughs of roughly 800,000 federal workers. Congress approved back pay for furloughed employees, so there was no effect on government wages and salaries.

The lackluster earnings for the federal government last year had regional implications as well: The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia overall experienced “relatively slow earnings growth in 2013,” according to BEA, in part because of a $1.1 billion drop in civilian federal government earnings.

Earnings growth slowed in most private-sector industries last year, though none experienced an actual decline like the federal government. Professional services, construction and health care experienced the greatest earnings gains in 2013, according to BEA data.

The first chart below shows earnings growth in 2013 by industry, for a sampling of industries; the second chart illustrates the percent change in earnings growth for the federal civilian government by U.S. geographic region from 2012-2013.

( Top image via KingJC / Shutterstock.com )

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Fiscal 2015 Budget Winners and Losers

Kellie Lunney and Chanin Knight — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:59:45 -0500

President Obama’s $3.9 trillion fiscal 2015 budget proposal is a mixed bag in terms of budget winners and losers.

Of the Cabinet departments and major agencies listed in the chart below, 11 would see their spending levels decrease from their fiscal 2014 enacted budgets; the budgets of four would remain the same; and seven agencies would receive a discretionary funding boost. The biggest losers, according to these statistics, are the Justice Department and the Small Business Administration. The Pentagon’s budget would remain flat, while the Commerce Department is in line for the biggest boost of the major agencies, with a fiscal 2015 request that is 6 percent more than its fiscal 2014 enacted budget.

The president’s fiscal 2015 proposal adheres to the spending levels in the 2013 bipartisan budget agreement, and allocates $56 billion for a wide-ranging new jobs initiative that includes more training opportunities for the federal workforce as well as efforts to improve government management and procurement.

“The budget outlines the steps my administration is taking to create a 21st century government that is more efficient, effective and supportive of economic growth,” the president’s budget message stated. “Our citizens and businesses expect their government to provide the same level of service experienced in the private sector, and we intend to deliver.” Obama also said his budget proposal “invests in the government’s most important resource, its workers, ensuring that we can attract and retain the best talent in the federal workforce and foster a culture of excellence.”

Clarification: An earlier version of this story included somewhat misleading information about the General Services Administration’s budget. According to Table S-11 in the White House document , the proposed fiscal 2015 budget for the agency is $0.2 billion, $1.6 billion less, or 89 percent less, than the enacted fiscal 2014 budget of $1.8 billion. However, GSA spokesman Dan Cruz says the president's fiscal 2015 budget request for GSA is actually an increase of $490 million from fiscal 2014. In fiscal 2014, the agency plans to pay off its debt to the Federal Financing Bank – a debt stemming from the 1980s -- with a one-time payment of $2.1 billion, which is included in its Federal Building Fund balances.

Here’s a look at how the major agencies would fare under Obama’s proposal:

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These Agencies Have the Most Feds Returning From Furlough

Chanin Knight and Eric Katz — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 17:34:40 -0400

Over the course of the 16-day government shutdown, roughly 900,000 federal employees were forced to take time off.

After the first week, some -- mostly Defense Department employees -- were brought back to work. With Congress finally agreeing on a deal to reopen all of government, the remaining 500,000-plus employees still at home will return.

In addition to the Pentagon, the Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security departments won't face a huge adjustment when all its employees return. Which of the medium and large agencies face the most dramatic reopenings? Below is a list of where the largest percentages of workers will be returning from furloughs:

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Timeline: Federal Employees Under Attack

Chanin Knight and Kelly Martin — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:16:42 -0400

Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard serves as a sad reminder that federal employees -- even civilians in seemingly secure facilities -- are too often targets of unexpected violence.

The latest tragedy, which was the “single worst loss of life in the District since an airliner plunged into the Potomac River in 1982, killing 78,” according to a report in The Washington Post , killed 12 civilian and contractor employees, in addition to gunman Aaron Alexis, himself a subcontractor for Hewlett-Packard working on a project to upgrade the Navy Marine Corps Intranet. As investigators attempt to piece together Alexis’ motive and how the troubled former Navy reservist gained a security clearance and access to the facility, we look back at some of the other attacks that have claimed the lives of government workers over the past two decades.

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Retiring Military Dogs Helped Locate Explosives, Deter Terrorist Attacks

Chanin Knight, Eric Katz, Kelly Martin, and Kedar Pavgi — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 10:11:18 -0400

Four retiring military dogs were recently honored for their distinguished careers overseas.

At a late-June event at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Okla., the dogs’ handlers ceremoniously “passed the leash” to the canines’ new retirement caretakers, according to Stars and Stripes . The dogs primarily served to track and locate explosives, drugs and terrorists.

“Simply put, these dogs save lives, many lives,” Col. Julie Boit said at the ceremony.

In addition to serving the Air Force, the “four-legged airmen” also supported components of the Army and Marine Corps.

The ceremony’s honorees were:

· Arras: A six-year-old German shepherd that served in the military for four years. The dog located explosives and deterred terrorist attacks against Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Arras supported the president and vice president.

· Blacky: A nine-year old German shepherd that served in the military for seven years. Blacky served in Iraq, helping to locate weapon caches and to prevent improvised explosive devices from detonating.

· Cita: A six-year-old Belgian Tervuren that served in the military for five years, including in Afghanistan helping to locate 30,000 pounds of hashish.

· Sheila: A six-year-old Belgian Malinois that served in the military for four years, including in Kyrgyzstan helping to locate explosives and deterring terrorist attacks.

Below, enjoy a slideshow of military dogs on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan:

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Infographic: We the (Unconfirmed) People

Chanin Knight and Kedar Pavgi — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:48:58 -0400

Twenty-one percent.

That’s how many of President Obama’s nominees for government posts have been confirmed during the first session of the 113 ^th Congress, according to data recently published by the Congressional Record. The numbers come as the administration and members of Congress grumble about the growing number of vacancies in key positions.

Many positions within the national security apparatus, including at the State and Defense departments, remain unfilled, as Foreign Policy magazine recently reported . The Army and the Air Force, meanwhile, each have more than 2,000 nominees waiting, the data show.

To put it in perspective, at a parallel point in time during the Bush administration, 27,686 nominees had been submitted, of which 25,942 had been confirmed. That’s nearly 94 percent, for those who are counting.

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In Focus: Clocking Clearances

Chanin Knight and Susan Fourney — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:35:00 -0400

As recently as 2007, if you were a federal employee or contractor who needed a security clearance to handle classified information you could expect to wait more than 100 days before your background investigation was complete. Now the average wait is little more than a month, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management.

Since the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act set timeliness standards for clearance processing, investigation times have plummeted by 75 percent. Under the 2004 law, agencies were expected to complete 80 percent of background checks within 90 days by fiscal 2007 and 90 percent within 40 days by fiscal 2009 -- plus 20 days for the adjudication process. Target times are longer for certain types of clearances.

The Obama administration has made strides in streamlining security clearances, according to the Government Accountability Office, which removed the process from its high-risk list in 2011. The Defense Department, which handles the majority of government security clearances, has vastly improved timeliness by standardizing investigation and adjudication procedures.

But more work lies ahead, U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro noted in congressional testimony last year. “Emphasis on quality in clearance processes should promote positive outcomes,” he said, "including more reciprocity among agencies in accepting each other’s clearances."

Timeliness of Background Checks

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Obama v. Romney on federal pay, the size of government and management

Chanin Knight, Kelly Martin, and Kedar Pavgi — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:36:00 -0400

Debate over the nature and scope of the federal government has taken on unusual prominence during the 2012 presidential elections. On the campaign trail, President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney have offered remarkably different visions of how they will manage a federal government facing tough budget decisions and other significant policy matters in the coming years.

We’ve put together a graphic that we hope will guide you on how each candidate wants to shape federal spending, personnel, defense, and pay and benefits. The information was gathered from published policy positions, speeches, media statements and -- in Obama’s case -- his first term record. We will update the graphic as more information becomes available.

Editor's note: Please click on the Romney tab to view his positions and the Obama tab to view his stances.

Eric Katz contributed to this report.

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The State of Defense

Caitlin Fairchild and Chanin Knight — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Click below to see the full Defense poster included in the Aug. 15 issue of Government Executive.

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Timeline: Obama’s efforts to tame the bureaucracy

Charles S. Clark, Amelia Gruber, and Chanin Knight — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:42:59 -0400

During the 2008 presidential campaigns, critics were quick to point out Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s relative lack of experience leading large organizations. Three years into his term, some say the president has indeed faced a steep learning curve, as senior correspondent Charles S. Clark reported in the July issue of Government Executive. Others note Obama has improved government operations. He designated former management consultant Jeffrey Zients as the federal chief performance officer, and put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of a Campaign to Cut Waste.

Under their leadership, the White House has unveiled a number of management memos and executive orders, aimed at everything from selling off unneeded real estate to streamlining federal contracts. Our timeline reviews how the Obama administration’s management strategy unfolded.

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Campaigning for Cuts

Andrew Lapin and Chanin Knight — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Here is our series of infographics parsing through each of the Republican presidential candidate's stated plans to restructure the federal government. We initially ran the graphics in the first days of January.

Rick Perry (No longer running)
Rick Santorum
Jon Huntsman (No longer running)
Ron Paul
Newt Gingrich
Mitt Romney

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