Management

Active Management

Few government handbooks actually describe, with verbs, what managers can do to improve their agencies' performance.

Defense

Lawmakers question security of DOE shipment of plutonium to France

Democrats, antinuclear groups say transport planned for next month could be vulnerable to terrorist attack.

Defense

9/11 commissioner: Threat of airplane suicide bombing has increased

TSA chief says agency is close to rolling out a passenger screening system and a comprehensive strategic plan.

Tech

Officials defend Navy intranet satisfaction survey

Navy Marine Corps Intranet officials said it does not present a conflict of interest for the network’s contractor to conduct the customer satisfaction survey.

Defense

Agency pushing Los Alamos to resume projects too soon, critics say

Watchdog group charges that the safety overseer wants to relax precautions.

Pay & Benefits

Unions seek to force DHS to keep negotiating on personnel rules

Labor leaders lobby members of Congress to put pressure on Homeland Security officials to extend discussions.

Defense

Investigators recommend criminal charges in Abu Ghraib prison scandal

Report casts blame on soldiers and contract employees; discipline recommended for five officers.

Oversight

Senate Dominoes

The Senate landscape looks fairly stable.

Defense

Agencies misuse classification authority, managers say

Officials tell lawmakers that at least 50 percent of all classified documents should be made public.

Pay & Benefits

Pay problems plague Army Reserve

A Government Accountability Office survey of eight Army Reserve units finds that 95 percent of personnel experienced pay problems.

Tech

OMB sets new standards for e-government grades

Memo elaborates on standards for earning a green light on Bush administration's quarterly management scorecard.

Defense

Panel: Prison abuses reveal ‘string of failures’

Independent panel's assessment stops short of calling for resignations of Pentagon leaders.

Defense

Lawmakers seek incentives to reduce classification of information

Hearing on 9/11 panel recommendation will examine how excessive secrecy impedes information-sharing.

Defense

FBI chief struggling to turn rhetoric into action

Critics say there is a considerable gap between the plans announced at FBI headquarters and the reality in the field.

Defense

Border and customs officials cite low morale, security gaps

Union releases survey of 500 Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers.

Tech

IT training programs can be linked to form federal plan, report says

A report from the Office of Personnel Management recommends integrating numerous training programs in information technology at different agencies.

Defense

Senate chairman unveils intelligence reform proposal

Idea to put parts of the CIA and Defense Department under the control of a new national intelligence director runs into swift opposition.

Management

EPA slow to carry out plan for improving grants management

Guidelines for measuring environmental benefits from grant money were due last year.

Defense

Lawmaker questions demise of government technology task force

The task force was disbanded in January despite having a lengthy research agenda, dedicated staff and budget to carry its work through 2004.