Defense

Peter Thiel’s New Man In The Defense Department

The new head of defense research and engineering comes from the White House with a relatively light resume.

Defense

We Need $10B to Pay Contractors’ Coronavirus Expenses, Pentagon Tells Congress

It’s the first time a defense official has put a specific price tag on DoD’s COVID relief efforts.

Workforce

This Isn’t Sustainable for Working Parents

The pandemic has already taken a toll on the careers of those with young children—particularly mothers.

Pay

10 House members urge 3% pay raise for civilian feds

Citing pay parity and COVID-19 resiliency, lawmakers urge Appropriations Committee to rethink planned 1% increase.

Management

GovExec Daily: How the President's 'Deep State' Rhetoric Affects Feds

Dr. Donald Moynihan joins the podcast to discuss his paper “Populism and the Deep State: The Attack on Public Service Under Trump.”

Route Fifty

Budget Stress Presents Added Obstacle for School Reopening

School districts face extra costs to safely bring back students after shutting down due to the coronavirus. At the same time, the outbreak is pressuring state and local government budgets.

Management

ICE Detention Operators Defend Coronavirus Response Amid Growing Concerns

More than 3,000 immigrants in federal custody have tested positive for COVID-19.

Route Fifty

Bars Are ‘One of the Worst Environments’ for the Spread of Covid-19. Is It Time for Governors to Shut Them Down?

If you go to a bar in a pandemic, you might get more than a cocktail.

Nextgov

Customs to Expand License Plate Reading Program Nationwide

Customs will have access to commercial datasets including license plate images and data from parking garages, toll booth cameras and financial institutions, as well as local governments and law enforcement.

Pay & Benefits

House Lawmakers Call for Pay Parity Between Military and Civilian Federal Workers

Although the House version of a defense policy bill includes a 3% pay increase for members of the military in 2021, an appropriations bill under consideration effectively endorses only a 1% raise for civilians.

Management

You Can Make Millions Selling Masks to the Government in Three Easy Steps

The federal government is essentially providing seed money to PPE startups, including some run by people accused of fraud. Mask brokers describe a simple blueprint for buying masks from China to get rich.

Oversight

Trump Says He 'Disagreed' With Privately Funded Wall, So Why Did His Administration Award the Builder $1.7 Billion in Contracts to Erect More Walls?

President Trump now claims this privately funded border wall — touted as the “Lamborghini” of fences — was built to “make me look bad,” even though the project’s builder and funders are Trump supporters.

Defense

The Defense Bill Could Rewrite How the US Does Cyber Defense

A proposed new office would help private entities and the government respond together to major hacks.

Pay

OPM seeks new pay locality areas

The Office of Personnel Management proposed regulations to establish a new locality pay area for Des Moines, Iowa, and to include Imperial County, in the Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif., locality pay area.

Management

Does the COVID-19 Crisis Cap 25 Years of Government Blunders?

"What went wrong? The answer is: Almost everything went wrong, and almost everything that did go wrong had been foretold."

Benefits

Fed employee survey delayed again

The annual survey of federal employees on work and workplaces -- already postponed two months -- will now be delayed until Sept. 14.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: Pandemic Response and Trust in Government

Dr. Barry Eichengreen joins the podcast to discuss a study on how young people see government based on its ability to deal with a public health disaster.

Management

Book Review: Voices From a Slow-Moving Nuclear Calamity

In “The Hanford Plaintiffs,” Trisha T. Pritikin gives voice to the downwinders of the notorious Hanford nuclear plant.