Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry spoke Monday at the Maxwell School of public affairs at Syracuse University about the future of public service and shared his ideas on the type of merit pay and performance system the federal government should adopt. First, as he’s stated before, Berry said, “We must end the denigrationRead… Read more »
He’s earned headlines, praise and criticism this week for his stance on health care reform, but Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) shifts gears Friday to focus on another long-brewing issue: cyber security. The Connecticut lawmaker will publicly state for the first time his preference for a Senate-confirmed White House official to coordinate the government’s efforts,Read… Read more »
Happy Friday! It’s Halloween Eve, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will dress up as a rancher. The Agriculture Department will close its annual farmers market season with recipe sharing and an antique cider press demonstration. Young children from a nearby day care center will trick-or-treat through the halls of the Department of Veterans Affairs likeRead… Read more »
A friendly reminder that federal employees have until Saturday to submit their ideas for the White House GreenGov Challenge, a chance for rank and file folks to share their ideas on how to improve the government’s environmental sustainability. More than 10,000 civilian and military employees have logged on to WhiteHouse.gov/GreenGov to submit ideas and voteRead… Read more »
More than 131,000 progress reports on stimulus funding will be posted Friday on Recovery.gov, the government’s stimulus-tracking Web site. Much of the data will include corrections to the first version of reports filed by fund recipients earlier this month. Several early reports overstated the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program, accordingRead… Read more »
Happy Thursday! (Unless you’re the Yankees?) About 40 Obama administration officials, lawmakers, Hill staffers, employee organization heads, private sector leaders, good government types and academics met Wednesday in Washington to have a frank, off-the-record conversation about the federal government’s recruitment and hiring process. “It was an invitee-only, off-the-record session that participants described as a candidRead… Read more »
Federal employees can continue to make charitable contributions to a nonprofit affiliate of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now through the government’s annual workplace charity campaign despite the concerns of a Republican lawmaker. As part of an investigation into ACORN’s activities, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) in late September asked Office of PersonnelRead… Read more »
Happy Wednesday! (Unless maybe you live in Rio.) Perhaps it’s just unfortunate coincidence, but there are at least four cases of former federal employees in trouble with the law this week for allegedly committing acts against the government. Let’s review (in alphabetical order): • P. Leonardo Mascheroni: Investigators have seized the physicist’s property, telling himRead… Read more »
As if soliciting their cost-savings ideas wasn’t enough, the White House now wants federal employees to pitch proposals on how to make the federal government more environmentally sustainable. The GreenGov Challenge starts Monday and continues through Oct. 31. Run by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the online contest asks federal workers to suggestRead… Read more »
Remember when President Obama said he wanted to make working for the federal government cool again? The government’s chief human resources officer told lawmakers Thursday that they need to approve a bill that extends full benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of gay or lesbian federal employees in order to ensure the government’s coolness factor.Read… Read more »