Management
People First
Adm. Mullen says military institutions must be built around the needs of their people.
Oversight
Panetta confirmed as Defense secretary
He will be tasked with implementing the start of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.
Oversight
Former Fed chairman backs new plan for overhauling government
Volcker and Sen. Warner welcome NYU professor’s plan to save $1 trillion by reorganizing to attack waste.
Pay & Benefits
IRS has difficulty ensuring its own employees’ tax compliance
Inspector general finds 133 cases where agency staff may have been delinquent.
News
From Nextgov: Banks urged to get faster at reporting cyber breaches
Witnesses say time is of the essence in notifying account holders of incidents, and imply Citigroup did not respond fast enough to a recent intrusion.
Pay & Benefits
Complaints of improper political activity rise in 2010
Office of Special Counsel attributes increase in Hatch Act cases to growing public awareness and greater media attention.
Pay & Benefits
Relationships key to attracting students to federal service
Better communication between schools and agencies would boost student hiring, according to human capital leaders.
Oversight
Education considers buyouts
Department is weighing whether to join a growing list of federal agencies attempting to downsize in response to budget pressures.
News
FDA releases new warning labels for cigarette packages
Companies have until next year to put them on all packs.
Oversight
Biden talks intensify; Gang of Six considers options
Groups are seeking way to conquer debt limit, deficit.
Defense
Obama will announce Afghanistan troop decision on Wednesday
Petraeus has endorsed a drawdown of 30,000 troops by the end of 2012.
Defense
As Afghanistan drawdown approaches, Obama faces new political landscape
The president will unveil his troop withdrawal decision Wednesday, ending weeks of fevered speculation about the course of the unpopular war.
Oversight
How Baseball Is Different From Politics
Explaining Palin's decline in popularity by analogy to statistical scoring methods on the diamond.
News
From Nextgov: Fire fighters relying on high-tech tools in Southwest
GIS systems, GPS data and satellite, and Wi-Fi networks help fire managers plan strategy.
Defense
Pain of Defense service contractor cuts might not be felt evenly
Spending decreases in Senate policy bill wouldn’t necessarily result in across-the-board pay or hiring freezes, industry reps say.
Oversight
Misconduct could cost SEC its building leasing authority
House panel pursues reports of waste and criminal acts in abandoned bid to make Constitution Center the agency’s headquarters.
Defense
Army settles on site for national museum
After a decades-long decision process, officials have picked the north post of Fort Belvoir, Va., for a central facility honoring the service’s 236-year history.
Oversight
Environmentalists hail Grand Canyon ruling
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's plan bans uranium mining on more than one million acres around the Arizona site.
Defense