Multiple sources tell Federal News Network the Office of Management and Budget told agencies to target specific job classifications like cyber or data scientists or certain grade levels for increased salaries.
In today's Federal Newscast: Service members will see basic allowance for housing rates increase by an average of 5.4% starting January 1. Senate Republicans say they smell a rat in the case of the missing OPM use-of-official-time webpage. And a bipartisan bill in Congress aims to increase the salary of VA radiation specialists from an annual $195K to $280K.
The war in Ukraine, and to some extent Israel, have drained away U.S. weapons and ammunition stockpiles. Numerous studies have cited a shortage of shells, missiles and launch platforms, as well as whether the industrial supply chain and the military's own organic supply chain have the capacity to sustain the demand. For one informed view, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with Al Abramson, the Vice President of Strategic Engagement with the National Armaments Consortium and a retired U.S. Army brigadier general.
The House has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades. Supporters overcame objections from some conservatives concerned it didn’t do enough on cultural issues, such as restricting the Pentagon’s diversity initiatives and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members. The Senate had already overwhelmingly passed the bill on Wednesday, so now it goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. One of the most divisive aspects of the bill is a short-term extension of a surveillance program aimed at preventing terrorism and catching spies. Opponents of the extension wanted changes designed to boost privacy protections for Americans.
The Defense Department is having trouble connecting with Gen Zers who are now in their prime military recruitment age as enlistment shortfalls persist
DoD CIO John Sherman said the department is "firmly committed to multi-cloud, multi-vendor" solutions as it prepares to consider what comes after JWCC.
The Defense Intelligence Agency is finalizing its artificial intelligence strategy to control the use of technology for decision support and human-machine teaming when providing intelligence to warfighters and policymakers.
The Navy is not quite certain how many ships and submarines it wants to build over the next few decades. In fact, it has offered three alternative plans to Congress, with varying timelines and price tags. For analysis, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the Senior Analyst for Naval Forces at the Congressional Budget Office, Eric Labs.
It looks like Congress has managed to get the National Defense Authorization law done before December 31. As always, the bill is chock full of items federal contractors should pay attention to.
In today's Federal Newscast: The Small Business Administration is redefining small. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is rolling out a new cybersecurity tool for agencies. And DARPA makes plans to build a booming economy on the moon.
The Air Force inspector general says the massive classified documents leak by a service member this year was made worse by the intentional failure of multiple officials to take required action on his suspicious behavior.
In today's Federal Newscast: GAO looks to improve agency adoption of agile and iterative software development. The U.S. Space Force has officially activated its component for Europe and Africa. And GAO is projecting money for DoD's Armed Forces Retirement Homes is running out.
U.S. Transportation Command says it won’t know how soon the department will be able to finally transition to its long-delayed household goods moving contract until a new round of IT integration tests is finished.
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.
In today's Federal Newscast: DoD's Electronic Health Record problems are still a big factor in military recruiting challenges. GAO says the Department of Veterans Affairs is failing to detect drug felons during the hiring process. And the Senate has confirmed the new director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.