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• The U.S. Courts Administrative Office said it is establishing a Federal Judiciary Workplace Conduct Working Group to a review safeguards in place to protect federal court workers from inappropriate conduct and harassment. Chief Justice Roberts said he wants the group to see if any changes are needed to Judiciary’s employee guidance, and the rules for investigating incidents. (U.S. Courts)

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated it may offer more buyouts and early retirements to its workforce in 2018. The latest fiscal spending plan to come out of the Senate includes more than $79 million for buyouts at the EPA, which could equal more than 2,000 more buyout offers at the agency. About 400 employees took deals last summer. (Federal News Radio)

• The Army said it plans to phase out its early retirement program at the end of February. The program allowed soldiers with 15 to 19 years of services to retire with full benefits. The Army is canceling the program as part of an effort to rebuild its force strength. (Federal News Radio)

• The Defense Department said it it ready to review of ways to improve the way it buys and develops software. The annual Defense authorization bill the president signed last month included a provision ordering the Defense Innovation Board to conduct a one-year study on software acquisition. The board said it plans to kick off the project at its quarterly meeting tomorrow. Lawmakers want an accounting of all of the regulations that apply to software development, along with cases studies of best and worst practices in software acquisition throughout the department. The final report is due a year from now.

• President Donald Trump has nominated James Stewart as assistant defense secretary for manpower and reserve affairs. Stewart previously served as the economic development committee chair on the North Carolina Military Affairs Commission. The president also selected Thomas Ayers as General Counsel of the Air Force. Ayers was commander of the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency. (White House)

•  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it is losing its senior IT adviser and chief technology officer.  Mike Hermus, the CTO for the last two years, announced his last day is March 4.  Meanwhile, Jeanne Etzel, the DHS senior IT adviser in the CIO’s office,has  decided to retire at the end of January. Meanwhile, the Government Publishing Office (GPO) is back on the market for a new chief information officer. At GPO, Tracee Boxley is no longer the CIO after being permanently named to the position in October. (Federal News Radio)

• The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has urged Congress to pass a budget  to fund all agencies until the last day of fiscal 2018.  It also said it wants Congress to fund defense and civilian agencies equally. The current continuing resolution expires Jan. 19. NTEU National President Tony Reardon also reminded members to back off of proposals that have federal employees contributing to deficit reduction. (Federal News Radio)

• Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has predicted an bigger budget and new hires are in the future at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Speaking at the Economic Club of Washington D.C., he said the agency needs funding to carry out its new duties under the tax reform bill passed late last year. The National Taxpayer Advocate estimated IRS will need $495 million in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to implement the new tax law. (Economic Club of Washington D.C.)

• The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it will be business as usual while the courts review new Trump administration immigration policies. USCIS said it has resumed accepting requests for extend stays  for those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The agency said it will operate under terms in place before the program was rescinded by President Trump. A federal judge in San Francisco blocked that recession after it sparked several lawsuits. (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

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