Oversight
The Rarely Used Congressional Power That Could Force William Barr’s Hand
It hasn’t been done in nearly a century, but House Democrats could arrest the attorney general after they find him in contempt.
Nextgov
Cyber Espionage Targeting Public Sector Rose 168% In 2018
“Government incident responders must either be cape-and-tights-wearing superheroes, or so stressed they’re barely hanging on by their fingernails.”
Oversight
What Federal Employees Might Want to Know Before Blowing the Whistle to Congress
Volume of disclosures rises when congressional oversight dominates the news, watchdog notes in new primer.
Pay & Benefits
House Democrats Threaten to Withhold Some Feds' Salaries Over Administration's Failure to Comply With Investigations
Lawmakers cite 2016 precedent for withholding money for officials' pay.
Defense
Price Drop: Lockheed Pitches $80M F-35A to Pentagon
That’s the cheapest price yet for the Air Force version of the fifth-generation jet.
Management
The Engineers’ Plan for Creating Border Security With Clean Energy
A proposal imagines how building solar panels and wind turbines along the U.S.-Mexico border could unite calls for a Green New Deal and a border wall.
Oversight
Play of the Day: Steve Mnuchin Is Not Giving Up The Trump Tax Returns
The Treasury chief and House Democrats are at a stalemate.
Route Fifty
San Francisco Poised to Ban Facial Recognition Technology
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A push to end classroom political discussions in Arizona … Cleveland looks at its tax abatement program … A city council in Utah considers an anti-abortion resolution.
Route Fifty
States Press Congress on Banking Access For Marijuana Businesses
The IRS built “cash rooms” to handle collections from the industry.
Management
OPM Nominee Defends Tenure at Labor Authority, Commits to Working with Lawmakers on GSA Merger
Dale Cabaniss dismissed her record-low employee morale scores at FLRA as backlash to efforts to make the agency “more fair” and effective.
Route Fifty
Protecting Health Care Workers from Violence at Work
Legislation introduced in Congress is aimed at preventing violence against health workers, sometimes by their patients, while another bill would create a peer-support program for paramedics and other first responders.
News
The First Great Career Civil Servant
During Public Service Recognition Week, it’s worth taking note of Charles Lyman’s accomplishments.
Nextgov
Innovation From Within: How One Employee-Built Tool is Revolutionizing VA
An open source tool called LEAF is saving the Veterans Affairs Department time, resources and perhaps millions in taxpayer dollars.
Oversight
Top GOP Lawmaker Implores Colleagues to Publicly Praise Feds
Civil servants should receive public recognition like military personnel, committee leader says.
Nextgov
Only 11 Percent of Federal IT Runs on the Cloud, Watchdog Says
The Government Accountability Office found the tech’s adoption at civilian agencies has been significantly higher than in the Defense Department.
Oversight
Ex-Regulatory Chief Disturbed by Trump Team’s Failure to Cooperate With Watchdogs
Former officials bless coming bipartisan transparency and retroactive regulatory review bills.
Nextgov
Former Federal CIO: Artificial Intelligence Will Change the World
Applying the technology to raw data sets may help transform government IT projects, Vivek Kundra said.
Defense
Don’t Expect the Military’s Next Fighter to Be Joint
While the Navy’s and Air Force’s next tactical jet might share some capabilities, a Navy official says, they won’t share an airframe.
Management
Senior IRS Leaders Launch Review of Agency’s Partnership With TurboTax and H&R Block
Both the IRS and its inspector general are investigating the partnership with the tax software industry in response to ProPublica’s reporting.
Management