Management

Green Gaps

Making eco-friendly IT a reality at agencies requires changing behavior as well as policy.

Oversight

Obama regulatory chief draws skepticism from GOP House members

Cass Sunstein defends new review of rules and promises potential for job losses will be factored into cost-benefit analyses.

Oversight

Agencies learn from missteps during last year’s flooding in Nashville

Weather Service and Army Corps of Engineers officials agree with report’s call for better coordination of rainfall forecast communication and mapping.

Oversight

EPA tops list of pending regulations under review

White House tracking of agency rule-making shows 130 proposals under evaluation as President Obama launches effort to weed out inefficiencies.

Oversight

SEC transparency faulted by watchdog group

Project on Government Oversight assembles previously unpublished reports examining employee misconduct and retaliation against whistleblowers.

Oversight

Interior announces new structure for regulating deepwater drilling

Third reorganization in response to BP oil spill aimed at fixing a bureau long torn by resource development, environmental safety and revenue collecting.

Pay & Benefits

Federal workers’ compensation payments called wasteful

Sen. Susan Collins requests GAO probe of reports that retirees in their 90s continue collecting under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.

Oversight

EEOC reports record rise in bias complaints, progress in trimming backlog

Agency says it collected the highest level of monetary relief obtained through the administrative process.

Oversight

State Department revises its gender-neutral passport wording

Surprised by conservative criticism of redesigned application’s use of ‘parent’ in place of ‘mother’ and ‘father,’ Clinton intervenes with compromise.

Oversight

Chamber of Commerce: Regulatory agencies overwhelmed

Business leaders criticize health care and financial reform laws and say SEC, HHS and Labor cannot handle new workload.

Oversight

National taxpayer advocate looped into debate on repealing health care law

Questions about IRS’ capacity to administer complex new law are released just as House Republicans launch bid to undo Obama’s reforms.

Defense

Inspector general for Afghanistan relieves two deputies

Under fire from lawmakers, chief auditor of U.S. spending in war zone says he’s bringing in new blood to improve efforts to curb waste and overspending.

Oversight

Oil drilling regulators could hasten industry return to deepwater operations

Ocean energy bureau’s announcement could allow resumption of drilling within weeks by qualifying companies whose permits were suspended after BP spill.

Managing Technology

Green Gaps

Making eco-friendly IT a reality at agencies requires changing behavior as well as policy.

Oversight

Dodaro confirmed as comptroller general

Senate on final night of 111th Congress approves acting head of GAO as permanent.

Oversight

Regulatory agencies have stepped up enforcement, study says

OMB Watch reports increased inspections, fines and warning letters from Obama appointees monitoring consumer health, worker safety and the environment.

Oversight

Paper Social Security checks will become obsolete in May

Treasury announces final rules for electronic delivery expected to reduce theft and save $1 billion over 10 years.

Defense

State Department review promises transparency, civilian ‘face’

Pentagon-style quadrennial assessment sets agenda for multiagency coordination of foreign aid and crisis response.

Oversight

Solutions offered to reduce delays in confirming presidential appointees

Brookings scholars examine why previous reform proposals have been stalled by congressional partisanship and paperwork burdens.

Pay & Benefits

Threats of violence against IRS employees persist

Watchdog report details assaults and bomb scares as well as IG’s moves to centralize data to better gauge which threats are most serious.