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• Agencies received new guidance from OPM for permanently notating a personnel investigation in an employee’s record, if the employee leaves before the investigation is resolved. The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act requires agencies to start making this distinction. OPM’s guidance does not explicitly tell agencies how to make a permanent notation, but does give some advice for doing so. Agencies must give employees a chance to respond to the adverse action findings before including the incident in a permanent record. (Chief Human Capital Officers Council)
• President Donald Trump asked Congress for permission to reduce spending by $15 billion, all coming from unobligated funds. The administration said there are programs with funding that have not been touched since 2011, or authorities which expired in 2012. This is the first of several rescission packages the White House plans to submit to Congress this year. The White House has not sent a rescission package to Congress in almost 20 years. (Associated Press)
• The president officially declared this week Public Service Recognition Week. This year’s declaration mentions the President’s Management Agenda. Trump said he is confident agencies will be able to service the public more efficiently and effectively with the new agenda. The Senate also passed its own resolution to commemorate Public Service Recognition Week. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) introduced their own version but the House has not voted yet on the resolution. (White House)
• An industry association formed a panel to help the government figure out how to fix the broken security clearance process. The Professional Services Council’s new Security Advisory Group, or SAG, will evaluate work of the National Background Investigation Bureau. The SAG consists of 11 former senior government officials. Still another group, the Intelligence and National Security Foundation, will collaborate with SAG in coming up with ideas for modernizing security clearances. SAG promised a final report later this year. (Professional Services Council)
• The Bureau of Engraving and Printing may be better off building a new D.C. site, than renovating its current one. The Government Accountability Offices found the bureau’s plans to build a new production facility in the DC metro area would cost $1.4 billion, compared to the $2 billion it will cost to renovate its current building. The bureau wants to build a secure perimeter around its new building, something it cannot do with its existing facility. (Government Accountability Office)
• Federal small business leaders weighed in on the administration’s updated category management strategies. The directors of the agency’s Office of Small and Disadvantage Business Utilization and SBA officials are pushing the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to be more responsive to their concerns about category management. The OSDBU Council and SBA offered seven recommendations to improve new strategies across the 10 spending categories. The recommendations include anything from ensuring there are on-ramps for small businesses on best-in-class contracts to developing a more transparent methodology to determine cost savings.
• The Senior Executives Association wants the Office of Personnel Management to consider improvements to agency executive resources boards. ERBs oversee staffing of the Senior Executive Service. But SEA said many agencies are asking for help to better use their own ERBs and want best practices. SEA President Bill Valdez said Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt made promising improvements to the Interior Department’s ERB in the wake of a recent inspector general report on SES reassignments. The Senior Executives Association said it wants to work with OPM staff and members of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council to develop recommendations for ERBs going forward. (Federal News Radio)
• OPM sent four legislative proposals on federal retirement to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for his consideration. The proposals were included Trump’s budget requests during the past two years. But the proposals from OPM Director Jeff Pon include more detail, and legislative language. The American Federation of Government Employees said the administration wants to attach these proposals to the 2019 defense authorization bill. (Federal News Radio)
• Air Force commanders now have more leeway in how they fulfill training requirements. Commanders can now train airmen in things such as suicide prevention and sexual assault through group training. Previously, training had to be done on a computer. The Air Force hopes this will unburden some airmen from the amount of training they have to do. (Federal News Radio)
• The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee wants a new national commission to investigate the recent uptick in military air accidents. An amendment scheduled to be brought up during this week’s debate over the annual Defense authorization bill would create a new independent panel. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said the commission would compare recent military aviation incidents to historical averages, and make recommendations to improve safety. Statistics compiled by the Military Times showed fatal air crashes are at a six-year high, including a 39 percent increase since 2013. (House Armed Services Committee)
• Finding information about tax-exempt organizations is now a little easier. The new Tax Exempt Organization Search from the IRS allows users to access records on charitable organizations. It replaced EO Select Check, which had been in use since 2012. Acting IRS commissioner David Kautter said the new tool will bring greater insight for people considering donating to these groups. (IRS)

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