Agency Oversight

• Reduced conference spending could save government $500M each year

  Increased oversight and tighter controls have led to a nearly 90 percent drop in conference spending since 2010 at four agencies. The reductions could amount to $500 million in annual savings across the government.

  Defense

  January 08, 2014
• Private security guards ill-equipped for federal workplace shooting situations

  Audits find contract security personnel, which make up the vast majority of the Federal Protective Service's workforce, receive no meaningful training on how to deal with armed attackers. And many operators of X-ray machines and metal detectors at building entrances likely have never been trained to properly use them.

  Management

  December 18, 2013
• What a waste — Sen. Coburn releases annual survey of wasteful government spending

  From super soldiers to stay-at-home feds, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) identified 100 programs that have generated almost $30 billion in wasteful spending by the federal government in 2013.

  Congress

  December 16, 2013
• VA struggles with accuracy as disability claims get more complex

  The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has made significant strides in targeting its most complicated disability claims toward its most seasoned claims processing staff, but IG audits still find errors in nearly a third of compensation claims processed for Traumatic Brain Injury.

  Defense

  December 06, 2013
• Coburn blasts DHS for gaps in its cybersecurity

  The Homeland Security Department's Office of Inspector General took a look at DHS' information security program and practices and found them lacking.

  Technology

  December 03, 2013
• White House considering options after Issa subpoenaes federal CTO Park

  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is compelling federal CTO Todd Park show up Wednesday for a hearing before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the IT oversight problems of the HealthCare.gov website.

  Congress

  November 11, 2013
• House panel targets DoD acquisition reform, but will that be enough?

  The House Armed Services Committee created a panel to figure out a way to reform the defense acquisition processes. Experts say reform may be difficult but it's also necessary given tight budgets and sequestration.

  Federal Drive

  November 06, 2013
• DHS faces challenges in coordinating cyber efforts across government

  The Homeland Security Department has received a mixed report from the inspector general on coordinating cyber operations across government, along with seven recommendations for improvement.

  Technology

  November 05, 2013
• Senators say embattled DHS IG slow to respond to requests for information

  Two top senators on a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee say a delay by the acting inspector general of the Homeland Security in providing documentation is hindering the committee's investigation into allegations of nepotism and misuse of agency resources. Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Financial and Contracting Oversight subcommittee, wrote to the Deputy IG Charles Edwards Wednesday pressing him to respond to their requests for information.

  Congress

  November 01, 2013
• Security clearance process ready for, in need of its next makeover

  OMB is set to begin next week a 120-day review of three broad areas around security clearances. DoD and ODNI are pursuing initiatives to create a continuous evaluation process for employees with secret and top secret approvals. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee members say recent events show the process is broken.

  Congress

  November 01, 2013
• VA’s Warren given CIO title as House ramps up cyber investigation

  In a message to senior executives, Secretary Eric Shinseki said that Stephen Warren now will hold the title of executive in charge, Office of Information and Technology and chief information officer. The title change comes as the House Veterans Affairs Committee is turning up on the heat once again on the agency's ability to secure its systems and protect data.

  Congress

  October 30, 2013
• Senate bill calls for random background checks for clearance holders

  Five senators introduce bipartisan bill aimed at enhancing how the Office of Personnel Management handles the clearances of federal employees and contractors to access classified information. If enacted, the legislation would require OPM conduct random, automated reviews twice every five years of public records and databases for information about individuals with security clearances.

  Congress

  October 30, 2013
• DOJ joins whistleblower suit against company that vetted Snowden, Alexis

  The Justice Department has joined a whistleblower False Claims Act suit against the federal government's largest provider of background investigations. Filed under the False Claims Act, the suit alleges that USIS, which currently has a multimillion-dollar contract with the Office of Personnel Management, failed to properly review its casework before providing it OPM.

  Management

  October 30, 2013
• HealthCare.gov contractors point fingers at CMS for site bottlenecks

  The House Energy and Commerce Committee called representatives from four contractors — including prime contractor CGI Federal — to the committee to investigate the bumpy launch of the health care website. Contractors responsible for key parts of the website told lawmakers that the federal government was responsible for comprehensively testing the site and that a late decision to require logging into the system before browsing for insurance plans created bottlenecks that crippled the site.

  Congress

  October 24, 2013