Federal Newscast

OPM lays out strategies for agencies to implement Trump administration’s priorities

In today's Federal Newscast, the Office of Personnel Management released the first Quadrennial Federal Workforce Priorities Report.

Eric White@FEDERALNEWSCAST

February 9, 2018 8:09 am

3 min read

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The Office of Personnel Management released the first Quadrennial Federal Workforce Priorities Report. It detailed a governmentwide human capital management strategy for agencies to deal with two top administration priorities: Reshaping the federal workforce, and improving employee engagement. It also gives a preview of the President’s Management Agenda. The White House is expected to release the full President’s Management Agenda, with cross-agency priority goals with the president’s 2019 budget proposal on Monday. (Office of Personnel Management)

Over 50 employees with the Environmental Protection Agency are facing potential pink slips. The EPA announced it will close two regional offices in Las Vegas. They’re part of the Office of Research and Development and the Office of Administration and Resources Management. EPA is reportedly looking to obtain Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments, and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. (Federal News Radio)

For homeland security, reauthorization will bring a more unified department. That’s according to testimony from acting inspector Gen. John V. Kelly. He told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the pending bill would streamline quote oversight, communication, responsibility and accountability of the department’s management and acquisition. He added that DHS leadership needs to renew its commitment to a unified department, and improve what he called its weak internal control environment that harms mission delivery. (Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General)

President Donald Trump announced his plans to pick a new IRS commissioner. The president will nominate Charles Rettig, a California-based tax attorney. Rettig spent more than 35 years at a Beverly Hill-based law firm, and has represented clients before the IRS, the Justice Department’s Tax Division and state tax authorities. If confirmed by the Senate, Rettig would take over an agency that has had its budget reduced by 18 percent and its workforce by 14 percent since 2010. (Federal News Radio)

HHS kicked off its third generation IT services contract. The Department of Health and Human Services is trying to bring better service and innovation to its employees in the headquarters office. HHS’s CIO’s office awarded a new version of its Next Generation IT Services contract to four vendors. Under the $139 million deal, HHS will compete task orders for a host of IT services among CSRA, Leidos, ManTech and Salient CRGT. Through NGITS, HHS also will establish an onsite engineering test lab that mirrors its environment so new technology is developed and put into production quickly. (Department of Health and Human Services)

The Navy has already committed itself to a “cloud first” policy as one way to modernize its IT systems, but its new top acquisition official wants it to go faster. James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition said he’s pushing for most Navy systems to move to the cloud within three years or less. (Federal News Radio)

The Defense Department’s executive cloud steering group effort faces additional vendor push back. There’s now a protest of DoD’s $7 million award for cloud computing support services to Eagle Harbor Solutions. The Interoperability Clearinghouse submitted a complaint claiming DoD improperly awarded the contract to the Alaskan Native Corporation. GAO has until May 16 to decide. (Government Accountability Office)

The Pentagon’s inspector general said Defense officials should send new guidance to DoD’s contracting personnel on “buy American” provisions in federal law. A summary report the IG issued on Feb. 8 found the department regularly ran afoul of the Buy American Act and the Barry Amendment in a sample of contracts it reviewed over the past several years. Out of 109 contracts the IG reviewed, 40 of them failed to include the necessary language requiring vendors to give preference to domestic suppliers. (Department of Defense)

An idea in the House would make it easier for departing service members to participate in specialized two day workshops before they enter the civilian world. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) will introduce a bill to require service members to opt out of workshops on higher education, entrepreneurship or technical skills, rather than opt in. (Rep. Stephanie Murphy)