News
Union makes headway in case against labor relations official
FLRA regional director supports contested union consolidation, files complaint with administrative judge.
Oversight
Former OPM employees plead guilty to stealing $27,000
Accounting technicians face up to 10 years in prison for diverting government funds into personal accounts.
Tech
Chambers split over use of drones on the border
Senate boosts resources for buying and deploying unmanned aerial vehicles; House wants assurance drones are more effective than other options.
Oversight
Progress cited on NASA business systems modernization
Focusing on basics could help agency avoid problems with implementation and future upgrades, GAO reports.
Defense
OPM unveils technology to speed security clearance processing
If pilot is successful, all agencies could begin receiving background check files electronically by Oct. 1.
News
Pentagon to scrap controversial anti-terror database
Information on potential security threats to Defense facilities or personnel will go to the FBI until a new streamlined reporting system is established.
Oversight
A Tale of Two Winners
Mitt Romney’s first place finish and Mike Huckabee’s second place showing in the Iowa GOP presidential straw poll shouldn’t be discounted.
Defense
DHS aims to spur innovation in radiation detection
Office is asking universities to work on finding shielded material, detecting material at greater distances, miniaturizing detectors and improving analysis.
Oversight
FDA says consolidation remains suspended, not canceled
Reorganization plan in limbo pending review of information including recommendations from an import safety advisory panel.
News
FBI's budget chock-full of tech-related efforts
Spending bills would allot $2.3 billion to counter terrorism, foreign counterintelligence, and related security activities.
Defense
An eye toward a future with electronic passports
Chips could become fast and reliable enough to allow the electronic issuance of visas in five years.
Pay & Benefits
Officials to shore up TSP against transaction influxes
Recent stock market dips trigger officials to assess the retirement plan's capacity to handle increased activity.
Tech
What’s Brewin’: Clear as Mud
The Pentagon spends hundreds of billions of dollars on contracts, but it’s getting harder and harder to tell exactly how that money is spent.
Oversight
Advocates push Illinois Dem. to forsake maverick course on spending
Fiscal conservative was the only House Democrat to vote against the $607 billion fiscal 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bill last month.
Oversight
Senate, House to scramble before Iraq report hits in September
After returning from recess, the Senate will first debate President Bush's nomination of Jim Nussle to be Office of Management and Budget director.
Oversight
Agencies fall short of small business contracting goals
Two of the government’s top contracting shops – the Defense Department and the General Services Administration – fail to meet targets.
Defense
Appropriators question funding for emergency wireless project
Senators express concern about "lagging progress, as well as the recurring costs of the conversion" to narrowband operations.
Tech
HHS secretary pushes new health IT advisory panel
Standards for health technology should be developed outside the political process, Mike Leavitt says.
Pay & Benefits
Employees in U.S. Virgin Islands to get cost-of-living bump
Workers in Puerto Rico and some areas of Alaska may be headed for further decreases, but rates will remain the same for now.
Tech