Oversight
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.
Nearly 40% of FAA air traffic control systems need urgent updates, GAO reports
Several systems, some which aid in navigation and communications, did not have modernization efforts in place, the GAO said.
Task force probing Trump assassination attempt to expand to include Florida incident
“We have a responsibility here in Congress to get down to the bottom of this, to figure out why these things are happening and what we can do about it,” the House speaker said in a statement.
Lawmakers mull a fraud-focused scorecard for oversight
Agency watchdogs warned lawmakers that their centralized fraud analytics capacity could end next year without congressional action.
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Watchdog wants more transparency on DOD’s reprogramming of military pay funds
While GAO did not find that the realignment decreased military benefits, it did urge the Pentagon to provide more information on the funding to Congress.
Updated
Federal employees can resolve EEO complaints without litigation. But is the alternative process fair?
The alternative dispute resolution process can reduce conflict, cost and delays through techniques like mediation.
IRS workforce is more diverse than the national civilian labor force. So why is GAO criticizing the tax agency’s DEI programs?
A new GAO report found that women, employees from historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups and persons with disabilities were underrepresented in senior levels at the agency.
MSPB to update rules to make operations smoother without a quorum
An interim final rule slated for publication next week updates the Merit Systems Protection Board’s procedures to allow the agency to take more actions without a full slate of political appointees.
Navy secretary violated the Hatch Act, OSC finds
The Office of Special Counsel also determined Education Secretary Miguel Cardona did not break the Hatch Act and concluded that federal employee activity related to Project 2025 is not prohibited under the law.
The Postal Service achieved most of its peak season goals in 2023, so why did performance slide?
The USPS inspector general found that despite accurately forecasting air demand and adequately staffing for its busiest period, the agency still saw some on-time delivery and inventory delays.
Cost of VA’s Digital GI Bill has nearly doubled amid delays and contract challenges
The agency’s Office of Inspector General said in a new report that initial contract requirements for the Digital GI Bill platform “were unclear and included unrealistic expectations.”
IRS is behind on Biden policy to not increase audits for households under $400K
TIGTA reports that the IRS has not developed a methodology to comply with a 2022 directive that bars IRA funding from being used to increase audits on households earning $400,000 or less annually.
Republicans criticize EEOC over nixed one-day furlough
The agency said that no additional funding and a high pay increase for federal employees helped create its budget shortfall, but GOP leaders called it a failure to adjust spending.
