Oversight

Lawmakers Call for Free Access to Publicly Funded Scientific Research

Two senators asked the Office of Science and Technology Policy to help make federally-funded research free. 

Oversight

An Investigation Has Found That Trump’s First Interior Secretary Violated His Ethics Obligations

The inspector general referred the matter to the Justice Department, but it declined to pursue criminal prosecution.

Oversight

GSA’s Lease for the Trump Hotel is Under Scrutiny Again

Lawmakers are calling for the agency to consider terminating the lease after the Trump Organization’s accounting firm said it could no longer vouch for the company’s financial statements.

Oversight

What Does Another Continuing Resolution Mean for Federal Contractors?

These stopgap spending measures can lead to "endless stop-and-start contract cycles, creating inefficiency and disruption."

Oversight

Whatever Happened to Biden’s Pandemic Testing Board?

The day after his inauguration, President Joe Biden signed an order creating a Pandemic Testing Board, which he said would be modeled on FDR’s hugely successful Wartime Production Board. A year later, there’s little sign of Biden’s initiative.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: Dems Want to Change the Debt Ceiling Process

Eric Katz joins the podcast to discuss plans to overhaul the debt limit and keep government open.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: Feds Have to Follow Stronger Ethics Rules Than Members of Congress. Why?

The Project on Government Oversight's Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette and National Taxpayers Union's Andrew Lautz join the podcast to discuss members of Congress trading individual stocks and ethics.

Oversight

A Watchdog Has Found the Trump Administration Handled Some Ukraine Funds Lawfully

This is “distinguishable” from the 2020 ruling in which the watchdog determined the Trump administration did violate the law with other aid spending, GAO said. 

Oversight

Rooting out Fraud in Government Programs

Machine-learning helps spot fraud, waste and abuse because it can not only automatically check massive amounts of data for signs of sketchy activity but also improve over time.

Oversight

Biden Can do More to Protect Inspectors General, Says Former Watchdog Fired by Trump

Guidance issued by the Biden administration was “important,” but an executive order could also help preserve IG independence, said Michael Atkinson.

Oversight

Older Feds Are Facing Persistent Racial and Gender Pay Disparities, the EEOC Has Found

Although the federal workforce has higher representation of people 40 and older than the private sector, men and white and Asian employees within that age group make more than women and other ethnicities.

Oversight

Internal Investigation Confirms Border Patrol Failures Leading Up to a 16-Year-Old’s Death on the Floor of His Cell

A Border Patrol agent logged welfare checks that didn’t happen. Only one medical professional was caring for 200 sick migrants. The government hasn’t said whether anyone is being punished.

Oversight

The $76 Billion Cost of a Yearlong Continuing Resolution

Inflation is making 2022 a terrible year to lack a budget. Congress must act.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: The Supreme Court Ruling Affects the Public and Private Workforce

Attorney John Ho joins the podcast to discuss the high court's decision about the OSHA rule.

Oversight

GovExec Daily: Biden's Ethics Promises Remain In-Progress

Courtney Bublé joins the podcast to discuss the administration's efforts toward long-term change.

Oversight

Despite Biden’s Efforts on Ethics, Some Observers Say More Safeguards Are Needed

“We’re in kind of a post-Watergate era right now,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, government affairs manager at the Project on Government Oversight. “I think that’s exactly the time you want to do something like a reform of government ethics.”

Oversight

COVID-19 Widows Struggle to Get Benefits as Social Security Offices Remain Closed

The closure of Social Security offices during the pandemic has made getting survivors benefits difficult for the spouses and children of those who’ve died during the pandemic. More than 90 percent of those seeking survivors benefits are women.

Oversight

The EPA Rejects Texas’ More Lenient Standard for Highly Toxic Air Pollutant

In the wake of an investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune into the widely used chemical ethylene oxide, the EPA has moved to reject a less protective standard crafted by Texas regulators and backed by the chemical industry.

Oversight

A Federal Pandemic Watchdog Says its Oversight Money Will Run Out in July

Brian Miller, special inspector general for pandemic recovery, wrote in a new report that $25 million in CARES Act start-up funds is not enough.

Oversight

The EPA is Taking Action to Combat Industrial Air Pollution

The EPA announced a raft of targeted actions and specific reforms including stepped-up air monitoring and scrutiny of industrial polluters in the wake of ProPublica’s investigation into toxic hot spots.