Oversight
U.S. History Shows Spending on Infrastructure Doesn’t Always End Well
The lasting problems of infrastructure aren’t of need or construction, but of overbuilding, delayed costs and the challenges of thinking ahead.
Management
Imagination Exercise Reveals COVID-19 Risk of Local Activities
An imagination exercise can help people make more realistic judgments about the riskiness of their daily choices.
Management
GovExec Daily: How Managers Can Help Feds Thrive in Uncertainty
Accenture Federal Services's Kristen Vaughan joins the podcast to discuss a framework for officials to use to help workers succeed.
Employee Policy
State, DOD: Exiting Afghanistan
The State Department and the Department of Defense issued initial statements addressing the need for the safe exit of U.S. and other nationals from Afghanistan, whose internationally-recognized government dissolved over the weekend—supplanted by the surprise arrival of advancing Talban forces in Kabul.
Oversight
Inspector General Urges Ethics Review at Federal Election Commission Following ProPublica Report
The FEC’s inspector general has called for the agency to review its policies and internal controls after ProPublica revealed a key employee’s undisclosed ties to Trump.
Oversight
Secret IRS Files Reveal How Much the Ultrawealthy Gained by Shaping Trump’s 'Big, Beautiful Tax Cut'
Billionaire business owners deployed lobbyists to make sure Trump’s 2017 tax bill was tailored to their benefit. Confidential IRS records show the windfall that followed.
Route Fifty
Pandemic Relief Aid Highlights Gaps Reaching Underserved Americans
Lessons learned so far could inform how states and localities design new programs funded with an influx of federal dollars.
Nextgov
Oak Ridge-Made Software Platform Digitally Twins All U.S. Buildings
Those involved aim to help improve nationwide decision-making about energy efficiency.
Pay & Benefits
GSA Announces Fiscal 2022 Travel Per Diem Rates
The per diem for lodging will remain at fiscal 2021 levels next year, due to the downturn in hotel prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Defense
Pentagon Sends 3,000 Troops to Secure Kabul Airport as US Evacuates Embassy Staff, Interpreters
Secretary Austin is also requesting additional military aircraft be ready to assist, rapidly get personnel out.
Workforce
Second Agency Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Some Civilian Employees
Nearly 400,000 feds are now facing a requirement to receive their shots as the Delta variant surges.
Nextgov
GSA, Executive Councils Seek Vendor to Improve Transparency in IT Acquisition
The new Governmentwide IT Transparency Professional Support Services contract will assist a wide swath of GSA’s tech-focused offices, as well as all the federal executive councils.
Defense
Veterans Push for Medical Marijuana in Conservative South
North Carolina claims to be the “Nation’s Most Military Friendly State.” Now veterans are trying to capitalize on this dedication to the troops to persuade lawmakers to pass medical marijuana legislation. It’s an advocacy model that has led to success for pro-cannabis efforts elsewhere.
Tech
GovExec Daily: EPA Policy and Science in the Biden Administration
Eric Katz joins the show to discuss how the agency says that it encourages open collaboration among employees, while some scientists have reported the opposite.
Retirement
Report: Fed retirements increase
More feds are retiring this year than last, initial data shows. Delays in processing those claims are also increasing.
Employee Policy
Agency zero trust does not start from point zero
The good news is that consistent IT policy spanning previous presidential administrations has allowed the federal government to slowly put the necessary building blocks in place for the inevitable zero trust architecture journey.
Route Fifty
What Works? Evidence and Evaluation Key as States and Localities Spend Aid
The federal government is urging states and localities to study the results of their American Rescue Plan Act spending and to adopt programs with proven track records.
Workforce
Court Deals Yet Another Blow to Firing Reform Law
Thousands of workers may now have a new avenue to getting their jobs back.
Nextgov
White House Memo Orders Agencies to Identify Critical Software
The memo follows up President Joe Biden’s executive order in May.
Workforce