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Members of the Senate have reached a long awaited agreement on new accountability procedures for senior executives and employees within the Veterans Affairs Department. A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act Thursday morning. It would change current disciplinary appeals rights for both SES and rank-and-file employees.
A survey finds inspectors general worried about the hiring freeze and budget cuts that could cost more money than they would save.
Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, said she and subcommittee and Chairman James Lankford (R-Okla) will make civil service reform a major focus this year. She and Lankford are looking for ideas that attack the root causes of some of the most challenging problems facing the federal workforce.
The Marine Corps updated its separation policy in wake of the Marines United scandal.
If this isn’t take-an-expert-to-lunch month, maybe it should be, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey. It’s a perfect time to check in on any crystal ball-gazers.
The Homeland Security Department spent 40 percent of its budget on personnel costs in fiscal 2016. That share may continue to rise, as the department attempts to hire 10,000 new immigration officers and 5,000 border patrol agents to meet the Trump administration's priorities. But DHS leaders say data analytics, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things will need to play a bigger role.
Although President Donald Trump lifted the federal hiring freeze, former DHS CHCO Jeff Neal says many agencies are stuck in hiring limbo.
Knowing you're not going to get the big job and the title minus that word "acting" doesn't mean you're less committed to the job than the eventual chosen one. That's what Anne Joseph O'Connell, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, writing for the Brookings Institution, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld an appeal from Sharon Helman, the former director of the beleaguered Veterans Affairs medical center in Phoenix, Arizona, who was fired in 2014. The court said a key provision that lets VA more quickly fire and discipline senior executives is unconstitutional. The Merit Systems Protection Board will review the original decision an administrative judge made regarding Helman's removal.
Cabinet secretaries, many of whom are newcomers to government, say they're impressed by the dedication and hard work they've seen from colleagues at the career levels of their agencies within the first 100 days of the Trump administration. They offered their congratulations to the 26 finalists of the Partnership for Public Service's prestigious Service to America Medals.
The new chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee tell Federal News Radio what they are thinking for the next NDAA.
VA's facilities planning processes leave it with millions of square feet of empty and decaying space.
OPM took longer in April to process retirement claims within 60 days compared to other months throughout the year. The agency processed 27 percent of the retirement claims it received in April within the standard 60 days or less, well below the 77 percent processing rate OPM posted in March. OPM also received slightly fewer retirement claims last month compared to April 2016.
One Veterans Affairs Department cybersecurity manager developed a program to reduce turnover and attrition. In fact she's a finalist in this year's Government Information Security Leadership Awards. Barbara Smith, information security director for VA's Pacific District, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more.