Management
Government’s Pay System is Badly Fragmented
Next year, the GS system—its management philosophy and administrative framework—will be 100 years old.
Oversight
Viewpoint: The EPA Disbanded Our Clean Air Science Panel. We Met Anyway – and Found that Particle Pollution Regulations Aren’t Protecting Public Health
Scientists who were appointed to advise the EPA on air pollution kept meeting independently after the agency dissolved their panel. They say current regulations aren't strict enough.
Route Fifty
A Plan to Engage Hackers in Election Security
The Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center wants to create a coordinated vulnerability disclosure program that could alert vendors about security flaws in their voting systems.
Route Fifty
Paramedics Slower to Respond After Deadly Incidents, Study Finds
When emergency workers handle a serious call during the course of a shift it can have a nearly immediate negative affect on job performance, according to new research.
Management
Trump Revokes Obama Order That Had Limited Hiring Options for Some Contractors
Contracting experts had been critical of the lack of flexibility for managers under a rule requiring certain companies to hire employees from their predecessors.
Nextgov
GAO: Census Risks Missing Deadlines on 15 IT Systems Ahead of 2020
With Census Day less than six months away, officials have no room for error in system development, testing and deployment.
Management
USPS, Regulator Pursue Different Paths in Fighting Court Ruling on Rate Hikes
Allowing the court's ruling to unwind the stamp price increase would cause "substantial disruption and uncertainty," Postal Regulatory Commission says.
Management
Labor Authority Preliminarily Finds Social Security Illegally Intimidated Union Officials
Earlier this year, management threatened leaders at the Association of Administrative Law Judges with discipline for taking official time to prepare for contract negotiations.
Route Fifty
How Hundreds of Cities Have Simplified Solar
More than 300 municipalities have received designations from SolSmart, a national program that helps streamline permitting and zoning processes to make solar easier to obtain for residents and businesses.
Pay & Benefits
TSP Portfolios Post Modest Growth in October
All funds in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program saw minor gains last month.
Nextgov
Not Everyone Will Be Posting Opportunities to the FedBizOpps Replacement
Shifting to a new platform with new data structures is difficult, and not all contracting offices will be able to make the change by Nov. 12.
Management
How Five Federal Agencies Fostered Innovation
New report showcases initiatives including a procurement lab and virtual internship program.
Management
Border Agents Can Now Get Classified Intelligence Information. Experts Call That Dangerous.
The Trump administration is creating a center that will give immigration agents access to information from U.S. intelligence agencies. Migrants and others denied entry will be unable to see the evidence against them because it is classified.
Oversight
Play of the Day: The Impeachment Inquiry Moves Forward at the Capitol
Both parties brought visual aids.
Route Fifty
Citizenship Question Would Not Have Lowered Census Response, Test Finds
A test the Census Bureau conducted this summer found that people who were asked whether or not they are U.S. citizens were not significantly deterred from answering the survey.
Nextgov
Interior Grounds All Drones With Ties to Chinese Companies
The decision comes months after agency officials approved purchases of aircraft built by the Chinese firm SZ DJI Technology.
Route Fifty
A Move to Allow Digital Driver’s Licenses as a Legal Form of ID
Under a Colorado program, bars and other businesses will have the choice of whether or not to accept them. Similar initiatives are taking shape in other states.
Route Fifty
Women Still Underrepresented in Elected Office at All Levels of Government, Report Says
Despite record numbers of women serving in Congress, women remain a minority at the local, state and federal levels of government, according to data released this week.
Nextgov
Defense Innovation Board Lays Out 5 Key Principles for Ethical AI
The guidance is intended to steer the department’s expanding AI portfolio and reassure the public that military leaders take concerns about bias, transparency and accountability seriously.
Pay & Benefits