Facilities/Construction

• GSA buildings commissioner Dorothy Robyn stepping down in March

  Dorothy Robyn, the commissioner of the General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service, will be leaving her post in March. GSA will name her replacement at a later date.

  Management

  January 29, 2014
• Smart building technologies and energy efficiency

  Barbara Humpton, senior vice president of Business Development for Siemens Government Technologies, will discuss where the federal market is headed and other issues. January 28, 2014

  Off the Shelf

  January 28, 2014
• USPS falling behind in upkeep of postal facilities, auditors say

  The U.S. Postal Service's financial woes are forcing the agency to put off vital maintenance and repair work of facilities across the country, according to a recent inspector general report. Between 2009 and 2012, the Postal Service's budget for capital improvements and facility repairs fell by $382 million, and some 19,000 planned repairs were left uncompleted.

  Management

  January 21, 2014
• Fed buildings to get much-needed upgrades thanks to budget boost

  The General Services Administration says it will finally be able to begin digging out of a backlog of deferred maintenance of federal buildings thanks to a boost in funding from the recently passed bipartisan spending bill. The spending bill, passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama last week, authorizes GSA to spend about $9.3 billion from the Federal Buildings Fund.

  Budget

  January 21, 2014
• Duncan calls for ‘reality check’ on DHS headquarters project

  Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, released a majority staff report that questioned the planning and future efficacy of the Homeland Security Department consolidating its headquarters at the St. Elizabeths campus in D.C.

  Congress

  January 14, 2014
• GSA’s green energy testing benefits federal buildings, commercial manufacturers

  GSA tests new energy-saving technologies in its own buildings, to help the government save money and manufacturers realize opportunities in the commercial sphere.

  Federal Drive

  December 20, 2013
• Postal Service’s BlueEarth Program helps agencies safely clear up clutter

  Many electronic devices contain hazardous materials that can cause environmental damage when sent to landfills. The Postal Service's BlueEarth Recycling Program makes it convenient and safe for agencies to dispose of electronic waste.

  Federal Drive

  December 20, 2013
• 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
• Pentagon’s cost savings proposals lost to compromise of authorization bill

  Congress is poised, for the first time since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, to miss its deadline to pass the one policy bill that's been considered "must-pass" legislation under administrations of both parties. But the measure's only chance of success also torpedoes Pentagon proposals for cutting DoD's internal cost growth. Military personnel would receive a 1 percent pay raise next year.

  Congress

  December 11, 2013
• Lawmakers plan bipartisan push on bill to help agencies offload unnecessary property

  Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), are jumpstarting a new effort to get both sides of the Capitol dome on board with a bill to make it easier for agencies to hang the "For Sale" sign outside their doors. Carper, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Chaffetz, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, hosted a Capitol Hill roundtable with private-sector real-estate experts and former government officials Wednesday to discuss a new legislative path forward.

  Congress

  December 06, 2013
• White House environmental policy adviser Sutley to resign

  After five years as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Nancy Sutley will leave her position in February 2014. During Sutley's tenure, the Obama administration created the National Ocean Policy and Climate Action Plan.

  Management

  December 04, 2013
• Critics say federal design-build construction contracts stifling competition

  Representatives of the construction and building design industries told lawmakers Tuesday that agencies' practices in issuing design-build construction contracts are dissuading qualified contractors from even offering bids.

  Congress

  December 04, 2013
• Mica says agencies ‘thwarting’ proposed FTC relocation

  Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Oversight's Subcommittee on Government Operations, said the Federal Trade Commission and the General Services Administration are "thwarting" his proposal to force the FTC to relocate out of its historic headquarters building and into leased space in Southwest Washington, D.C.

  Congress

  December 03, 2013
• A BRAC update and more

  Dr. Andrea Morris, BRAC Coordinator and Community Resilience director for Arlington County Virginia, will discuss how the county is being impacted by base closure and realignment, and what officials are doing to boost job growth in the area. November 29, 2013

  Fed Access

  November 29, 2013