Management

Agencies Are Looking to Streamline Payment Data Collection in Contracting

The keepers of the federal government's acquisition rulebook – GSA, DOD and NASA – want to increase automation in payments to contractors.

Defense

The Pentagon's Acquisition Reforms May Get More Scrutiny

William LaPlante, who has been nominated to be the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, indicated that he would review recent acquisition reforms and champion modern software practices if confirmed.

Workforce

Survey: People Found Freedom, Joy in Gardens During COVID-19

Why did some people start gardening during COVID-19? Connection to nature, relaxation, and stress relief were by far the biggest reasons gardeners cited.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: How Congress is Trying – and Not Trying – to Prepare for the Next Pandemic

As funding is absent in the omnibus, Eric Katz joins the podcast to discuss new plans for federal preparedness.

Nextgov

Proposed Bill Would Let People Know When Law Enforcement is Surveilling Them

The Government Surveillance Transparency Act requires law enforcement to disclose surveillance orders. 

Defense

White House Bureaucracy Is Costing Ukrainian Lives, Senators Say

Lawmakers are urging Biden to send more aid and enforce sanctions as quickly as possible to help Ukraine beat Russia.

Oversight

See Just How Much White Men Have Dominated the Federal Judiciary

As Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's hearings start, The 19th takes a look at the diversity of the federal judiciary since its start in 1789.

Workforce

Gender Bias Makes Humor at Work Tricky

Gender and status can each affect how well humor goes over at work, research finds.

Oversight

There's No Final Number Yet for Pandemic Fraud, Oversight Leaders Tell Congress

Total fraud levels in pandemic relief programs are upwards of $100 billion, but getting a clear estimate is made difficult by data gaps and ongoing fraud recovery efforts, officials said at a Senate hearing.

Workforce

GovExec Daily: Trump Workforce Policy Is Not Going Away

Erich Wagner joins the podcast to discuss a new bill that would bring back the former president's approach to federal personnel policy.

Workforce

OPM Launches a Toolkit to Attract More Women to the SES

The effort to recruit more women into the cadre of career government executives builds upon a 2014 program and comes amid news that, unlike the rest of the federal government, there is no gender pay gap in the Senior Executive Service.

Defense

It’s Time for a Protected Humanitarian Airlift into Lviv

Russia has no right to dictate who may fly into and out of Ukrainian airspace.

Nextgov

White House Warns of Potential Russian Cyberattack Based on New Intel

Officials, distressed by the continued lack of cybersecurity basics implemented in the private sector, issued “a call to action.”

Management

Sharing COVID Vax Facts Inside ICE Detention, One Detainee at a Time

Thousands of ICE detainees nationwide have tested positive for COVID; 11 have died. Medical providers in California are volunteering to educate immigrants awaiting trial or deportation about COVID treatment and vaccination.

Tech

The VA Is Planning New Health Record Deployments, Despite Critical Watchdog Reports

Two upcoming go-live dates for the Cerner health record at VA facilities in Washington and Ohio will proceed on schedule, the agency says.