Federal watchdogs have found several gaps in how VA screens candidates for healthcare jobs — including identifying when it hires employees with a drug felony.
Don’t just roll over your plan, says Kevin Moss, who researches FEHB plans for Consumers’ Checkbook. “It’s quite possible that you’re overpaying versus some less expensive options that could provide just as good or … even better coverage for a lower price.”
Measuring federal office space utilization is incredibly complicated — and it has been that way for quite some time.
Did you miss Federal News Network’s 2024 Open Season Exchange? Not to worry! Get tips about what to consider when making your FEHB selections by watching or reading about the day’s sessions on demand now.
New to civil service? We created this guide to provide insights and pointers to first-time feds. Be inspired by careerists and also get pointers to make the transition to your new job as smooth as possible. (Pssst: It includes health and life insurance cheat sheets too!)
Earlier this summer, disposal experts with the Defense Department destroyed the last remaining M55 rocket filled with deadly sarin nerve agent at a storage facility in Kentucky. It was a major milestone, marking the safe elimination of all declared chemical agents amassed between World War I and the late 1960s. To find out what and who were involved in this extensive initiative, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control, Kingston Reif.
‘Tis the season to be jolly. But don’t get too distracted from important priorities, like end-of-year financial planning. For some orientation, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Thiago Glieger, a wealth adviser with RMG Advisers of Rockville, Maryland, a firm that specializes in federal employees.
David Drabkin, a fellow at the Stevens Institute of Technology Acquisition Innovation Research Center, and Chris Yukins, a professor at the George Washington University law school and a fellow with Acquisition Innovation Research Center, led a review of DoD’s protest data, specifically focused on agency-level complaints.
Keeping up with technology requires constant evolution. How are agencies employing new technology to better meet their missions and how is it impacting the workforce?
A new “talent pools” portal on USAJobs will compile a database of agencies’ already-qualified job applicants, which other agencies can then consider hiring.
The Senate in a single stroke has approved about 425 military promotions after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama ended a monthslong blockade of nominations over a Pentagon abortion policy. Tuberville had been under pressure from members of both sides of the political aisle to end his holds as senators complained about the toll it was taking on service members and their families, and on military readiness. Tuberville said holds would continue, however, for about 11 of the highest-ranking military officers. President Joe Biden calls the Senate’s action long overdue and says the military confirmations should never have been held up.
Everywhere you look, you see more land covered by solar panels. In fact, the Energy Department estimates some 4,000 large solar projects are underway in the U.S. Now, thanks to Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the U.S. Geological Survey, solar watchers can access a database of them. It shows their size, location and other details.
For smaller suppliers, selling to DoD still isn’t a walk in the park – but things are getting a little simpler. Last month, the department enacted a long-awaited rule change that prohibits prime contractors from flowing unnecessary contract clauses down to their subcontractors. It is all a part of more changes that are meant to simplify commercial buying in DoD that are still in the rulemaking pipeline. Dan Ramish is counsel at the law firm Haynes & Boone. He talked with Federal News Network’s Deputy Editor Jared Serbu about what the changes mean.
Daily photos of things happening in and around the federal government.
