Workforce
VA Is Increasingly Leaning on Contract Nurses as COVID-19 Cases Surge
Employees lament staffing shortages even as VA has brought on 66,000 new workers since the novel coronavirus pandemic began.
Route Fifty
The Covid Detection Method That's Been Right Under Our Noses—Literally
Four dogs in Hawaii are training to detect Covid-19 by scent, part of a large international research study to determine whether it's possible—and how it might be used.
Management
Democratic Lawmakers Seek to Increase Oversight of ‘Midnight’ Regulations
Bill would require the Government Accountability Office to submit various reports to Congress.
Pay & Benefits
A Guide to Pay and Benefits During a Shutdown
Although lawmakers ultimately expect to reach a deal on federal appropriations, failure to pass a bill before Friday’s deadline could lead to a short lapse in funding. Here's what feds need to know.
Route Fifty
Local Health Departments Are Understaffed. Would Biden’s ‘Public Health Jobs Corps’ Help?
Public health leaders say the president-elect’s idea for a corps to help with contact tracing would miss the mark of current needs on the ground, saying they are looking for broader, and more long lasting, federal support.
Management
How the Biden Administration Can Supercharge Results by Using Evidence
Believe it or not, there has been progress over the last four years in the use of evidence and data to inform decision-making. The new administration can build on those gains.
Nextgov
Pentagon Preps for First CMMC Pilots in 2021
The Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program will begin including security requirements in select solicitations starting next year.
Defense
Viewpoint: Keep Politics Out of National-Security Advisory Boards
Trump’s appointment of loyalists to DHS and DOD boards sets a dangerous precedent.
Management
Transition Roundup: Biden Team Briefed on Hacking Campaign; Education Career Officials Told To ‘Resist’
Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.
Management
Shirley Sherrod Holds ‘No Ill Will’ Against USDA Nominee Who Ousted Her
Shirley Sherrod hopes that if Tom Vilsack is confirmed, he will put a focus on Black farmers.
Workforce
GovExec Daily: The Dangers of Schedule F
The Project on Government Oversight's Nick Schwellenbach joins the podcast to talk about the workforce order and its effect on the civil service.
Route Fifty
Biden Taps Pete Buttigieg, a Former Mayor and Presidential Rival, as Transportation Secretary, Reports Say
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Iowa decides against spending Covid funds on IT upgrades … Utah university votes to drop “Dixie” from name … New York governor accused of sexual harassment.
Management
Broad Coalition of Employee, Advocacy Groups Makes Last-Ditch Effort to Convince Congress to Block Schedule F
With just days remaining until the latest government shutdown deadline, more than 60 organizations are pressuring Democratic lawmakers to ensure spending legislation includes a provision preventing the Trump administration from politicizing the civil service.
Nextgov
What We Know About the SolarWinds Breach
The White House invoked Presidential Policy Directive-41 to coordinate a "whole of government" response.
Workforce
USPS Faces Busiest Time of the Year With More Than 14,000 Employees Quarantined
COVID-19 cases are spiking within the Postal Service workforce at the worst possible time.
Management
Anonymous Voice Of America Employees Protest New Director
Robert Reilly has a “troubling history of mismanagement at VOA” and is “openly hostile to Muslims and Gays,” wrote the whistleblowers’ senior counsel.
Management
Why Agencies Should Invest in Managers (and Pay Them More)
The pandemic has created an opportunity for government to change the way work gets done. Managers will be the key to success.
Route Fifty
Nation Sees Troubling Rise in Fatal Cocaine Overdoses
Many of the deaths involve cocaine mixed with the opioid fentanyl, a new analysis finds. Data shows that 2019 may have been a record year for deadly overdoses.
Management
Transition Roundup: Barr To Resign; Inauguration Committee Outlines Public Health Plans
Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.
Defense