Federal Drive
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In today's Federal Newscast: Some federal correctional officers are set to lose pay bonuses in 10 days. The White House forms a task force to fight fraud against veterans. And on its fourth anniversary, SPACECOM's commander says it has reached full operational capability.
December 21, 2023 -
The Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) have for decades limited Social Security payments available to certain federal employees; mainly those under the old Civil Service Retirement System and anyone else who receives a pension from earnings that were not taxed by Social Security. A bill to repeal GPO and WEP had a Congressional hearing last month at a field hearing in Louisiana. For analysis, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with John Hatton, the Vice President for Policy and Programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.
December 21, 2023 -
The Government Accountability Office recently upheld the protest of a contract award from the Defense Intelligence Agency. DIA was hiring a small business to conduct counterintelligence training. It used a slightly unconventional approach to evaluating bidders.
December 20, 2023 -
The last thing the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) needs is new employees who have a substance use disorder or or felons with access to VA pharmacies. But the agency lacks a consistent procedure for finding out about such people from the Drug Enforcement Administration. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the VHA, in fact, hired thousands of people who might have drug-related convictions.
December 20, 2023 -
Theaters, opera halls and concert venues were all hit hard by the pandemic. People didn't want to gather in close quarters. To get a gauge on how and where people might be participating in the arts again, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) focused on that topic in its most recent five-year survey. For more on the methodology and how the results guide NEA activities, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with the agency's director of research and analysis, Sunil Iyengar.
December 20, 2023 -
In today's Federal Newscast: Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh has been nominated to be the next NSA director and commander of U.S. Cyber Command. Seven federal agencies are banding together to form the Biden Administration's "Climate Corps.” And it took three years, but the Navy finally has a new acquisition chief.
December 20, 2023 -
An acting commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Services. Two governmentwide acquisition contracts to be awarded and a third launched. Dealing with the FBI relocation mess. The General Services Administration you might say, has a lot on its plate.
December 19, 2023 -
In today's Federal Newscast: Martin O'Malley turned 60 this year; now he gets to run the Social Security Administration. The Defense Department IG is warning that systemic problems with military health care could be leading to opioids being overprescribed. And one of the Energy Department’s major labs is creating a new hub for artificial intelligence research.
December 19, 2023