Defense
Warren Presses the Defense Secretary on Wasteful Contractor Spending
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said adding to the Pentagon's topline for 2023 to account for inflation would just invite "defense contractors to pick taxpayers' pockets."
Workforce
Coronavirus Roundup: $60 Million Grants Awarded for Public Health AmeriCorps; DOD Consolidates COVID Guidance
There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s a list of this week’s news updates and stories you may have missed.
Nextgov
How a Social Worker Became the Defense Logistics Agency's First Chief Data and Analytics Officer
Under her leadership the agency is ‘just starting’ to really understand what it means to apply data as a strategic asset.
Workforce
Job Seekers Will Sacrifice Money for Diversity at Work
A significant number of job applicants will sacrifice salary to work somewhere with greater diversity, research finds.
Tech
GovExec Daily: How the Internal Revenue Service is Modernizing
Nextgov's Frank Konkel speaks to Annette Jones, assistant to the chief taxpayer Experience Officer at the IRS, about the present and future of the tax agency.
Workforce
Appeals Court Reinstates Biden's Vaccine Mandate for Federal Employees
Agencies will soon be able to start punishing unvaccinated workers.
Oversight
Years After Scandal, the VA Is Still Reporting Misleading Medical Appointment Wait Times for Veterans
The department is not "clearly and accurately presenting" how long patients wait for appointments, IG says.
Management
Biden’s Management Agenda Update Adds Metrics to Workforce Goals
The White House’s first update to the president’s management agenda, first released last November, lines up tasks for agencies and attaches individual officials to goals.
Employee Policy
Success of WH America the Beautiful Plan hinges on empowering feds
Rangeland destruction by cattle undermines conservation ambitions. The administration's plan to address this is promising on paper—but only stable investment in agency management and staff can really turn the situation around.
Benefits
Report: Student loan forgiveness program improves
Student loan forgiveness is accelerating, under a revamped program for public service workers.
Management
The Senate Confirms a Supreme Court Nominee With Experience on Federal Employee Issues
Ketanji Brown Jackson overturned a trio of Trump executive orders that had made it easier to fire federal employees and limited union bargaining rights.
Pay & Benefits
How You Can Get Better Customer Service
Tips on getting the result you’re looking for when you reach out for help.
Defense
A Security Council Official Is Calling for a Federal Office to Oversee Commercial Supply Chains
A NSC official expressed support for a provision in the $52 billion America COMPETES Act that would establish a federal office dedicated to monitoring domestic and international commercial supply chains.
Management
Gov. Greg Abbott’s Plan to Bus Migrants to Washington, D.C., Will Be Voluntary
Abbott said he’s responding to the Biden administration announcement that it will lift a pandemic-era emergency health order that allowed immigration authorities to turn away migrants at the border, even those seeking asylum.
Management
How the U.S. Government Left Lake Charles in Limbo after Hurricanes Laura and Delta
The Louisiana city’s stalled hurricane recovery reveals the limits of federal disaster policy.
Management
5 Ways Americans’ Lives Will Change if Congress Makes Daylight Saving Time Permanent
Research suggests that permanent daylight saving time would save lives as well as energy and prevent crime.
Management
Federal Contractors Could Soon Have to Disentangle Themselves Completely From Russia
A top House oversight Democrat says her bill limiting contracts with companies operating in Russia during the Ukraine war would supplement existing sanctions.
Workforce
GovExec Daily: Biden's Budget Has a Big Pay Raise In It For Feds
Erich Wagner joins the podcast to discuss the blueprint's workforce provisions.
Route Fifty
Supreme Court Steps Into a Fight Over State Permitting Power
An order from the high court means that Trump-era guidelines imposing new limits on state authority to approve or deny energy infrastructure projects will remain in effect as the Biden administration works on a rewrite of the rules.
Management