Route Fifty

A City’s 48-Hour Push to Maintain 311 Service With At-Home Staff

The Buffalo, New York program highlights how the coronavirus has forced many state and local governments to quickly adopt new technology. Some officials see lasting value in the changes.

Nextgov

Administration Adds 16 Months to Transition from DUNS to Unique ID

The General Services Administration will extend Dun & Bradstreet’s services while agencies get more time to patch and test systems. 

Management

House Democrats Urge OPM to Halt Implementation of Order Politicizing Civil Service

House Oversight and Reform Committee leaders want to investigate the development and analysis of the effort to strip wide swaths of the federal workforce of civil service protections.

Route Fifty

Who Will Get the Covid Vaccine First? A New Tool Aims to Help States Decide

A tool developed by epidemiologists and data scientists can be used to help states and counties decide how to allocate limited vaccine doses to high risk populations.

Pay & Benefits

Your Tax Bill Is On Sale, But Probably Not for Long

Federal employees shouldn’t overlook the potential advantages of investing in a Roth TSP or Roth IRA.

Management

USPS Is Again Notifying Employees That DeJoy's Reforms Are Null and Void

Court issues new mandate amid renewed spikes in mail delays.

Oversight

Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill Seeks to Formally Authorize IG Website

Oversight.gov was created in 2017 to consolidate IG reports for easy access.

Nextgov

Pentagon Expects to Deploy New Telework Tool in June 2021

The Defense Department’s Commercial Virtual Remote Environment enabled the rapid shift to mass telework during the pandemic, but a solution to handle more sensitive data is on the way.

Route Fifty

Attention, Lazy Garbage: This Bot Will Insult You Until You Vote

The free service, a product of the nonprofit Fight For The Future, sends daily text messages that urge you—impolitely—to go vote.

Insights

Securing the Expanding Perimeter

A Flash Assessment of Federal Employee Security Practices and Perceptions

Insights

The Telework Transition

A Candid Survey of Federal and State and Local Government Employees on Telework

Workforce

Coronavirus Roundup: High-Ranking State Dept. Official Tests Positive; Career FDA Leader Says Americans Can Trust the Vaccine Process

There's a lot to keep track of. Here’s today’s list of news updates and stories you may have missed.

Management

The Speed of Workforce Change Is Undermining the Civil Service

Personnel practices rooted in blue collar work from the last century continue to hold government back.

Oversight

Records Show Trump’s Border Wall Is Costing Taxpayers Billions More Than Initial Contracts

As the presidential election nears, a review of federal spending data found modifications to contracts have increased the price of the border wall by billions, costing about five times more per mile than it did under previous administrations.

Defense

Raytheon Sheds People, Offices, Divisions as Pandemic Crushes Commercial Sector

The company’s defense business is one bright light.

Workforce

GovExec Daily: The Problem with the Diversity Training Executive Order

Stan Soloway joins the podcast to discuss how the order conflicts with the government's role in promoting civil rights and inclusion.

Route Fifty

Judge Strikes Down Michigan Ban on Open Carrying Guns at Polls

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | New report warns of increased militia activity … A Nevada county and airport fined by state for President Trump’s rally violating Covid rules … Pandemic negotiations falter before election.

Route Fifty

These State Legislative Chambers Are Most Likely to Flip Blue

Democrats could take control in a handful of states, including North Carolina and Texas. But it won't be easy.

Route Fifty

1-in-4 Adults Say Household Finances Deteriorated From March to September

New survey data from the Urban Institute presents these and other troubling findings about how many Americans are faring economically as the coronavirus pandemic wears on.

Workforce

Federal Employees Donate $1.8M in Presidential Race, Mostly to Biden

Those contributing to Trump’s campaign overwhelmingly came from the Defense and Homeland Security departments.