Oversight

Pandemic Response Watchdogs Urge Agencies to Focus on ID Theft

Federal agencies need to contend with outdated tech, identity proofing and data issues while also helping identity fraud victims, inspectors general told a House panel on Tuesday.

Oversight

Medication Abortion and Clinics on Federal Land: Here Are Democrats’ Ideas to Protect Abortion Access

Facing a congressional stalemate, Democratic senators have asked the White House to consider a bevy of executive actions to protect abortion care ahead of an expected Supreme Court decision gutting Roe v. Wade.

Oversight

House Approves Massive $31 Billion 'Ike Dike' Project to Protect Texas Coast from Hurricanes

The U.S. House voted to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning for the massive coastal barrier project in Galveston Bay, but funding is not yet secured. The largest civil engineering project in U.S. history would permanently alter the Texas coast.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: The Lawyer, the Whistleblowers and $550M in Social Security Fraud

Damian Paletta, Brian Lazarte and James Lee Hernandez from "The Big Conn" join the podcast to discuss the story of the slow pace of government investigations, the people affected and the man at the center of a huge fraud case at SSA.

Oversight

How a Public Hearing Is Different from An Investigation – and What that Means for the Jan. 6 Committee

On the eve of public hearings held by Congress’ January 6 investigative committee, a former oversight staffer for the House of Representatives explains what such hearings aim to accomplish.

Oversight

Lawmakers Grill VA Tech Officials Over Stalled Progress on Cybersecurity

Top cyber officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs told Congress they are opposed to a bipartisan bill seeking to strengthen the agency’s cybersecurity standards—despite its ongoing failures to meet oversight recommendations.

Oversight

A New Law Will Make It Harder to Escape Investigation By Leaving Federal Service

The measure will allow the Veterans Affairs Department IG to subpoena former feds and contractors.

Oversight

What 5 Previous Congressional Investigations Can Teach Us about the House Jan. 6 Committee Hearings

The public hearings of the House Jan. 6 investigative committee will deal with unprecedented events in American history, but the very investigation of these events has strong precedent.

Oversight

A Federal Watchdog Will Probe the FDA’s Actions Leading Up to the Infant Formula Crisis

President Biden admitted on Wednesday he didn’t know how severe the issue was until April, well after formula manufacturers knew.

Oversight

HHS Launches an Environmental Justice Office

Environmental justice is a cornerstone policy of the Biden administration.

Oversight

The Justice Department Will Review the Uvalde Response as Furor Mounts Over Law Enforcement Actions

The Texas Department of Public Safety previously said local police made key errors. A specialized team of federal officers didn’t enter the school until more than an hour after the shooter arrived at the school.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: Why is Disinformation Such an Intractable Problem?

Nextgov's Frank Konkel joins the podcast to discuss the pause of the the Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board.

Oversight

DHS IG Says He Did Not Mishandle the Agency’s Reports on Sexual Harassment and Domestic Violence

The Project On Government Oversight – the outside oversight group that brought these claims – pushed back on Joseph Cuffari’s letter to lawmakers.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: MSPB, Discrimination and Whistleblowers

Attorney Dan Meyer joins the podcast to discuss a Merit Systems Protection Board ruling that will affect federal employees.

Oversight

The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19

Newly released documents reveal that the meatpacking industry’s callousness toward the health of its workers and its influence over the Trump administration were far greater than previously known.

Oversight

Here Are Some Lessons from Homeland Security’s Early COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign 

Issues early on hampered DHS meeting its vaccination goals, but then vaccinations became widely available.