Management
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The Biden administration’s long-term goals to eliminate carbon emissions from federal buildings and vehicles remain unscathed, as part of a bipartisan deal to cut government spending in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
June 01, 2023 -
After the White House called on agencies to increase “meaningful” in-person work at agency headquarter, federal leaders are considering how to balance, measure and track changes to hybrid work for their employees.
June 01, 2023 -
Region Six of the EPA encompasses 15% of the U.S. land area. But it accounts for 25% of enforcement actions by the EPA. The region covers five states and 66 tribal nations. It also includes many oil and gas fields, chemical plants, and paper factories.
June 01, 2023 -
The House has approved the debt ceiling and budget cuts package, sending it to the Senate. President Joe Biden negotiated the deal with Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avert a U.S. default crisis. They worked to assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to approval over blowback from conservatives and some progressives. The U.S. was facing a potentially disastrous default in less than a week if Congress failed to act. Despite deep disappointment from hard-right Republicans that budget cuts don't go far enough, it was approved on a bipartisan House vote with Democrats. The Senate is expected to act quickly by the end of the week.
May 31, 2023 -
For our May 24 show, I interviewed the Press Secretary for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Jeremy Edwards, and FEMA talent acquisition specialist Leemar Thorpe.
May 31, 2023 -
Among the troubling programs on the Government Accountability Office's High-Risk List, is the ability of the Health and Human Services Department to manage the national response to health emergencies. In the most recent pandemic, the response of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was at best disjointed.
May 31, 2023 -
The head of the U.S. Border Patrol says he's retiring. Chief Raul Ortiz has seen through a major policy shift seeking to clamp down on illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of Title 42 coronavirus pandemic restrictions. Ortiz said Tuesday in a note to staff obtained by The Associated Press he'll leave June 30. It’s unclear who'll replace Ortiz. Ortiz says he leaves “at ease,” knowing Border Patrol has “a tremendous uniformed and professional workforce” and "outstanding leaders." The border has not seen the high numbers of crossings or chaos anticipated by even President Joe Biden with the end of the Title 42 restrictions. And the number of crossings has dropped.
May 31, 2023 -
OPM is trying to give CHCOs more opportunities to offer feedback on planned policy changes, as long-standing federal recruitment challenges endure.
May 30, 2023 -
The IRS is facing substantial cuts to funds meant to rebuild its workforce and modernize its legacy IT systems over the next decade, as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a first-ever government default.
May 29, 2023 -
The debt ceiling deal has come with just days to spare before a potential first-ever government default. On Sunday, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a final agreement and they are urging Congress to quickly pass it. Biden pronounced the development “good news” in remarks at the White House announcing the agreement. This followed a tentative compromise announced late Saturday. The deal risks angering some Democratic and Republican lawmakers as they begin to unpack the concessions, which include spending cuts. McCarthy and Biden spoke Sunday evening as negotiators drafted legislative text. They face a June 5 deadline when Treasury says the U.S. would risk a debt default.
May 28, 2023 -
Many households have felt the weight of persistent high inflation and rising interest rates, as well as the easing of pandemic-related government assistance programs. In turn, people are more pessimistic about their financial situations and how they may evolve. In a recent Gallup poll, 50% of respondents said they were “worse off” financially compared to a year ago — the highest level reported since 2009.
May 26, 2023 -
he BOP Mission Statement also references "custody and care, not jails and guards." Federal Drive with Tom Temin takes a look a look at one success. Eddie Ellis was convicted of manslaughter, did part of his sentence in the Florence, Colorado super-max prison, and returned to society. He now works for juvenile-sentencing reform. This is a personal, intimate, and instructive interview.
May 26, 2023 -
All week the Federal Drive has examined the Bureau of Prisons, which ranks as, "The Worst Place to Work in the Federal Government," according to the annual listing derived from employee viewpoint survey results and compiled by the Partnership for Public Service. To finish the series, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talks with Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters, who has been on the job for almost a year
May 26, 2023 -
Bureau of Prisons path forward is not complicated, but it does go steeply up hill.
May 26, 2023 -
A federal judge in Massachusetts will hear oral arguments next Wednesday in a lawsuit that argues both that federal employees must be paid even if Congress doesn’t increase the debt ceiling, and that the ceiling itself is unconstitutional.
May 26, 2023