Tech
National Archives says agencies’ AI use does not automatically create federal records
New guidance from the National Archives and Records Administration outlines when agencies should preserve AI-related materials as federal records and notes there is no “one size fits all” approach to doing so.
Oversight
Getting a simple FOIA request from OPM shouldn’t be this hard
COMMENTARY | A frequent FOIA requester found himself navigating dead inboxes, broken portals and months-long waits after cuts gutted the Office of Personnel Management’s public records operation.
Workforce
OPM proposes ‘decentralized’ FEVS with fewer questions and less transparency
Agencies would be expected to conduct their own workforce surveys each year, with little rules on how much, or how little, they divulge to the public about it.
Management
State officials wrestle with federal data demands
Speakers during a recent webinar said federal access is “not unlimited,” and that certain safeguards are in place “for good reason.”
Defense
Judge orders agencies to preserve discussions in airstrike Signal chat
The directive targets communications in a Signal chat with top intelligence and national security officials between March 11 and March 15 that discussed strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief was inadvertently added to that chat.
Updated
Transition
Advisory government transparency committee terminated
The closure is the result of a Trump order targeting advisory panels throughout the federal government.
Transition
Musk’s DOGE efforts pose a ‘constitutional crisis,’ experts warn
Elon Musk has spent the first two weeks of the Trump administration parachuting into government offices, leaving extensive — and some say legally prohibited — changes in his wake.
Tech
The federal government is likely to receive a record number of FOIA requests again in 2024
COMMENTARY | Integrating AI-powered tools into FOIA processing could be a game changer, reducing backlogs, lowering costs, and improving accuracy.
Tech
Agencies score a record number of A's on the latest Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard
GAO Information Technology and Cybersecurity Director Carol Harris said the biannual review has saved the government a total of roughly $31.4 billion since it first began in 2005.
Management
Transparency and urgency are needed to deter agency misconduct and protect federal workers
COMMENTARY | The head of the Office of Special Counsel, the agency that investigates allegations of government misconduct, has a proposal.
Oversight
House sends the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act to president's desk
The chamber also approved two other bills to improve oversight of federal agencies.
Updated
Management
GSA unveils advisory committee for transparency initiatives
The committee will help foster new goals and initiatives under the Biden administration’s open government plan.
News
A pair of government transparency-friendly bills are headed for the House floor
One measure aims to improve the process for agencies to transfer excess office supplies and other items to another agency.
Oversight
Supreme Court clarifies when public officials can block citizens on social media
The Supreme Court unanimously found in a pair of cases that whether a government official can block a constituent on their personal social media account hinges on if a post is a state action or is private conduct.
Oversight
Modernize FOIA to increase its Sunshine effect
COMMENTARY | A modern-day FOIA needs to adopt changes that are uniform and consistent across all the covered agencies, writes a former FOIA officer.
Oversight
Conservatives bemoan disappearance of OPM official time docs
Officials at the federal government’s HR agency said a webpage housing sporadic reports on agencies’ official time use did not survive a recent website redesign, but suggested tweaks are ongoing.
Management
Government Agencies Work to Document the Painful Past of Indian Boarding Schools
The National Endowment for the Humanities has earmarked $4 million to support the digitization of records from the United States’ system of 408 federal Indian boarding schools.
Management
GOP Lawmakers Call for Congressional Ban on Members Using TikTok
A coalition of 17 House and Senate GOP lawmakers called for an amendment to both chambers’ rules to bar members of Congress from using TikTok for official purposes.
Defense
21-Year-Old Air Force IT Specialist Charged With Leaking Classified Security Documents
A team of Justice and FBI agents arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira in Massachusetts in connection with the widespread intel leak.
Oversight