Defense
Air Force’s pitch to retirees: Come back! No bonus or promotion, though
Service revives program to plug manning holes. But will anyone take the jobs?
Management
USPS sees some signs of a turnaround while losing $2B during recent busy season
The overall loss doubled in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, but the Postal Service doubled its profits in the part of its business that officials can control.
Oversight
Senate finance chair calls for inspector general’s ouster
Sen. Ron Wyden on Thursday urged President Biden to remove Social Security Administration Inspector General Gail Ennis after a series of controversies and allegations of whistleblower retaliation.
Oversight
No new agency needed for AI regulation, lawmakers say the existing framework can get it done
A single, overarching AI regulation package or a new AI regulatory agency is unlikely to emerge from Congress, members said.
Workforce
Want to work for the EPA? The agency is preparing for a substantial hiring push in 2024
The agency is leaning on a twin set of climate-related bills to restore its workforce.
Pay & Benefits
Crafting your perfect retirement exit strategy
These pre-retirement tasks can help ensure a smooth transition.
Pay & Benefits
Identity theft protection for OPM hack victims could extend for life under new bill
Under current law, the benefit for those whose personal information was exposed by the 2015 data breach is set to expire in 2026.
Workforce
Senate rejects border-related federal hiring surge after Republicans turn on deal
The $118 billion personnel, border security, immigration reform and foreign aid measure collapsed just days after it came together.
Management
OPM’s talent acquisition system needs better processes for managing agencies’ data
A GAO report found that OPM’s USA Staffing program lacked procedures for managing the interagency agreement data used when agencies utilized its talent acquisition system.
Tech
Contracts featuring automation and built-in security can boost agencies’ cyber defenses, VA officials say
As the federal government looks to harden its cyber resilience, officials from the Veterans Affairs Department said agencies should work to modernize outdated technologies and ensure that vendor contracts include more rigorous security standards.
Management
Cost-cutting measures will coincide with new goals to slash emissions, USPS says
The Postal Service has laid out new plans to cut its carbon footprint significantly by 2030.
Management
National Archives tees up new rules for UFO records
New legislation mandates a governmentwide repository of records dealing with "unidentified anomalous phenomena."
Pay & Benefits
TSP and Required Minimum Distributions
Rules around these mandatory withdrawals changed under the Secure 2.0 Act.
Workforce
Efforts to right-size agency real estate portfolios are often stymied
COMMENTARY | “There is a path forward and relevant, recent examples exist,” writes one former federal real estate official who urges the Biden administration to embrace the hybrid work model.
Tech
How Congress is gearing up to take advantage of generative AI
The House is working on new AI specific policies, guidance and training.
Management
House fails to impeach DHS secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas is no longer in peril after the failed vote. If the measure had passed, it would have been the first time a cabinet secretary had been impeached in nearly 150 years.
Tech
Proposed contractor cyber reporting rule sets a ‘significantly problematic’ bar, industry groups say
The groups, which represent tech and cybersecurity companies sometimes contracted by the government, say the proposals are too rigorous and inconsistent.
Management
IRS says its hiring surge and funding boost could generate $560B more than it thought
Improvements to IT, increased use of data analytics and deterrence factors will improve the return on IRS spending infusion, Biden administration says.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers urge OPM to update parental leave policy docs
The federal government’s HR agency’s self-imposed deadline of the end of 2024 to ensure the federal employee handbook and public-facing web pages reflect the enactment of 12 weeks of paid parental leave should be “a floor and not a ceiling.”
Tech