Time card abuse still a big problem at Patent and Trademark Office

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on  Federal Drive with Tom Temin. 

In today’s Top Federal Headlines, the Commerce Department’s Inspector General says the Patent and Trademark Office it wasting a lot of money on unsupported hours logged by employees.

• Time card abuse is still an issue at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A new report from the Commerce Department’s Inspector General analyzed two overlapping time periods last year, and estimated there was nearly $20 million in potential waste for unsupported hours. The IG said PTO’s main problem is loose monitoring of employees’ telework practices. A report outlining one patent examiner’s extensive time and attendance abuse was released around the same time last year. (Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General)

• Federal civilian and military employees are getting a 1.6 percent pay raise next year. President Barack Obama finalized the pay increase yesterday. It’s consistent with the 1.6 percent he proposed in his 2017 budget. The raise goes into effect January 1, 2017. (Federal News Radio)

• The president isn’t getting a lot of love for his decision to grant a 1.6 percent percent pay raise. The biggest federal union blasts the raise. American Federation of Government Employees president J. David Cox said it does nothing to make up for the years of pay freezes. He called recent raises minuscule. Cox repeated his call for Congress to enact a 5.3 percent pay raise. He said that will make up for years of neglect. (Federal News Radio)

• Open season for the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Program starts today. Eligible employees can sign up or choose from a variety of coverage options through September 30. It’s the first time in 12 years that the Office of Personnel Management will hold an open season for FEGLI. OPM said it’s been busy making major changes to its other health insurance programs and thought the time was right to hold an open season for group life insurance. (Federal News Radio)

• The Homeland Security Department has taken on security for the so-called Internet of Things. Robert Silvers, assistant secretary for cyber policy at DHS, said the department will issue what he calls strategic principles to be used by companies who make and distribute internet-connected devices. (Federal News Radio)

• All of the Agriculture Department offices which received threats on Monday will be reopen today with additional security enhancements. USDA told Federal News Radio it will continue to work with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, on the investigation into the email threats.

• The Army has opened its Rapid Capabilities Office. Its job: speeding up priority acquisitions. Army Secretary Eric Fanning said the new office will focus on electronic warfare, cybersecurity, and navigation. The Air Force and Defense Department headquarters already have similar offices. Fanning said the Army version will start with $100 million for 2017. (Federal News Radio)

• The Defense Department told Congress this week that it’s rearranging $100 million in funding in order to test the cyber vulnerabilities of its weapons systems. The reprogramming doesn’t require congressional permission, but the Pentagon comptroller’s office reported it because cyber vulnerabilities are a special topic of concern for lawmakers. The money will move from a fund that pays for DoD’s Defense Laboratory Office into a program element called Assessments and Evaluations. The Pentagon didn’t offer details on the reasons for the reprogramming. The latter account is normally reserved for classified programs that aren’t in the public version of its budget.

• The performance of Performance.gov would get a red score. The Obama administration’s signature website to measure agency performance is falling short in meeting user needs. A new report from the Government Accountability Office found OMB has only fully addressed one of four usability recommendations to improve the Performance.gov portal. Additionally, the website isn’t mobile friendly and there isn’t a plan to ensure older data is accessible. GAO also said OMB needs to have both a strategic plan and a customer outreach strategy to guide future improvements of the site. (Government Accountability Office)

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