Management
Coronavirus Roundup: COVID Fraud Prosecutor Announced; IRS Hiring 10,000 New Employees for Pandemic-Induced Backlog
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.
Defense
Why the US Won’t Give Patriot Interceptors to Ukraine
The Pentagon is still hunting “alternative options” to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against Russia’s brutal strikes.
Tech
USDA Looks to Modify a Key Nutrition Program for the Online Age
USDA wants to modernize WIC to allow for online shopping, but tech and regulatory hurdles need to be cleared.
Management
Why Daylight Saving Time Is Unhealthy – a Neurologist Explains
By altering the body’s internal clock, ‘springing forward’ may contribute to an increase in heart attacks and strokes.
Workforce
GovExec Daily: Feds, COVID-19 and the 'Transition to Hybrid Environment'
Tanya Ballard Brown talks to OPM's Rob Shriver about civil servants' reentry to offices, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.
Management
Sweeping Spending Increases Are Set to Become Law With the Senate's Approval of a $1.5T Omnibus Package
Domestic agencies will see a collective 6.7% budget increase as lawmakers avoid shutdown.
Benefits
Female feds often underinsured
WAEPA—the Worldwide Assurance for Employees of Public Agencies, a nonprofit provider of insurance and other financial services to feds—offers data showing women in the federal government are underinsured.
Management
VA to Propose Closing Some Medical Centers and Outpatient Facilities
While Secretary Denis McDonough says VA will seek to maintain jobs, the union blasts the department's plan as privatization.
Management
OPM's IG and TSP's Board Nominees Pledge to be Impartial in Roles
President Biden’s pick to chair the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board became the latest in a string of nominees to apologize to senators for past tweets about Republican lawmakers.
Nextgov
DARPA Taps OTAs to Accelerate the Making of a Useful Quantum Supercomputer
An ultramodern system might not be so far off.
Pay & Benefits
Postal Reform Measure Could Affect All Federal Retirees’ Health Benefits
Law requires postal retirees to enroll in Medicare.
Management
The SEC Is Proposing Mandatory Cybersecurity Incident Reporting for Publicly Traded Companies
The new rules would require companies to disclose to investors material breaches within four business days.
Management
The Surgeon General Wants to Hear Your Experiences with COVID Misinformation
The White House’s new pandemic plan outlines efforts to buck falsehoods.
Tech
For Defense IT, Acquisitions Need to Be More Than 'Just in Time'
Contract planning and boosting small business in 2022 are top of mind for Debra Daniels, the vice procurement services executive for the Defense Information Systems Agency.
Defense
The Pentagon Could Need More Cash if Ukraine Support and the NATO Border Mission Drag On
Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord also said allies are contributing more now than in the past.
Management
The CDC’s New Guidelines on Covid Risk and Masking Send Confounding Signals
The agency’s updated recommendations lower the level of covid risk for most of the country and therefore the need to mask. But some experts question the strategy.
Management
Here Are 10 Major Takeaways From the $1.5 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill
See which agencies are getting the biggest funding increases, hiring orders and new policy initiatives.
Workforce
GovExec Daily: What MSPB's Restored Quorum Means for Feds
Federal employment attorney Dan Meyer joins the podcast to discuss the board's functions after two confirmations.
Management
The House Approves a 6.7% Full-Year Domestic Spending Increase, and Another CR
The Senate must act on the stopgap measure by Friday to avoid a shutdown, before taking up the omnibus spending package.
Benefits