Oversight
Despite critical report, Biden hasn’t taken disciplinary action against DHS watchdog
It’s been about two months since an oversight committee substantiated allegations that DHS inspector general Joseph Cuffari abused his authority, with no word of potential White House action.
GAO saved the federal government $67.5 billion in fiscal 2024
The watchdog’s open recommendations could be a foundation for the new Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Marjorie Taylor Greene to head new government efficiency subcommittee
The panel will work closely with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s advisory Department of Government Efficiency.
Senators call for watchdog to investigate TSA’s use of facial recognition
In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, 12 senators warned that the deployment of facial biometrics at every U.S. airport could create “one of the largest federal surveillance databases overnight without authorization from Congress.”
Intelligence IGs head for the exit before Trump’s return
Trump fired five inspectors general during his first administration.
Senator wants info on inspectors general office sexual harassment settlements
Grassley wrote that whistleblowers informed his office that the financial agreements required complainants to sign non-disclosure agreements.
FEMA chief calls passing over of Trump supporters isolated incident, requests wider probe
One FEMA supervisor has been fired for directing staff to skip Trump-supporting homes, but administrator says there is so far no evidence of a more widespread issue.
Oversight of contract security guards at federal buildings is lacking, OIG says
In one notable example from a recent report, a guard at a federal facility told a visitor to place their firearm in a bush to access the building.
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Senior White House official violated the Hatch Act, OSC says
A filing with the Merit Systems Protection Board alleges that Biden’s domestic policy advisor shared fundraising messages for Democratic political candidates on social media.
GAO: Agency HR offices need better communication with officials in remote posts
Federal officials in Alaska, Hawaii and the United States’ various offshore territories said they struggle to combat high attrition at federal jobs in the non-contiguous U.S., despite some agencies’ efforts.
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VA whistleblowers honored for uncovering mismanagement of veterans’ personal information
Despite receiving OSC’s Public Servant award, the whistleblowers disagreed with investigators’ conclusions that they could not substantiate all of their accusations regarding the department’s alleged inappropriate use of personally identifiable information.
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HHS to crack down on providers blocking access to electronic medical records
The Health and Human Services Department has received more than a thousand claims of blocked or stymied access to electronic health record information in recent years.
OPM’s retirement backlog has fallen off the agency’s list of top management challenges
The Office of Personnel Management’s inspector general last month reported that the federal government’s dedicated HR agency faces taller tasks in the form of launching a health insurance program for postal workers and verifying enrollees’ eligibility for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
DHS IG committed ‘substantial misconduct,’ governmental watchdog finds
Whether Joseph Cuffari is removed or not is up to President Biden.
OSC praises case resolutions involving alleged retaliation against federal employees
The findings come as the Merit Systems Protection Board makes a change to how it handles OSC petitions.
Amid hiring surge, two VA agencies face employee background check deficiencies
The inspector general warned that shortcomings in the agencies’ background check programs were letting in unvetted staff.
OMB needs to provide public details on its plan to finish federal programs inventory, GAO says
Under a revised deadline, OMB has until January 2025 to complete an inventory of federal programs. But the agency hasn’t provided a timeline to meet such a target.
36% of new IRS hires faced delays due to technical and security clearance jams
Despite hiring 64% of its new employees in fiscal 2022 and 2023 within its 80-day goal, it took the IRS an average of 124 days to employ roughly 19,000 personnel due, in part, to system limitations.
Senators debate how to minimize the security risks of federal contractors working with China
Some agencies have blown past deadlines to implement certain requirements that address conflicts of interest in contracting while lawmakers weighed additional guardrails.
Senate report details widespread Secret Service failures in Trump assassination attempt
Lack of communication and leadership led to USSS errors, though the agency maintains no individual employees were to blame.
