Federal Newscast

Stage is set for the awards ceremony to recognize outstanding feds

In today's Federal Newscast, the Partnership for Public Service is out with the latest crop of Service to America Medals, or "Sammies," winners.

Eric White@FEDERALNEWSCAST

October 17, 2023 1:13 pm

< a min read

The Office of Government Ethics is trying to better understand its own community. OGE issued a four-question survey to learn about the makeup of agency ethics officers. Through the survey results, the office will update its diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility strategic plan and create recruitment, retention and professional development strategies for ethics practitioners. OGE said the survey is part of how it's complying with the January 2021 executive order on advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government. OGE last conducted a similar survey in 2021. Responses are due by Oct. 25.
(OGE ethics officer survey - Office of Government Ethics)

Technology and people are among the top management challenges agencies face. Three quarters of all major agencies have cybersecurity and information technology management challenges. More than half of major agencies are struggling with workforce challenges. These are the top two findings among 23 agencies in a recent report by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or CIGIE. Common IT and cyber challenges across many agencies include continued project management shortcomings and having to manage legacy systems. Common human capital challenges include succession planning and knowledge management. Human capital management has been on the Government Accountability Office (GAO's) high risk list since 2001.
(Top management and performance challenges facing agencies - Oversight.gov)

The Biden administration is looking for feedback on how to make federal buildings more sustainable. The General Services Administration and the Energy Department are asking industry about technologies to make federal buildings more energy efficient and lower their carbon footprint. The agencies are spending 30 million dollars under the Inflation Reduction Act to test these technologies at federal buildings. The Biden administration is looking to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from federal buildings by 2045.
(Biden-Harris Administration seeks input on innovation for clean and efficient commercial buildings - Federal News Network)

Agencies are above target for hiring in infrastructure. For projects under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the government has brought in more than 6,000 hires. That's the grand total so far since the infrastructure law was enacted in 2021. And it's well above the Biden administration's target for fiscal 2023. Now the Office of Personnel Management is looking to scale up some of the flexibilities that agencies used in infrastructure hiring. OPM, for one, is encouraging agencies to use shared certificates in federal recruitment more broadly.
(Biden administration tops infrastructure hiring targets, eyes broader hiring reforms - Federal News Network)

The Department of Veterans Affairs far exceeds its health care workforce hiring goals. The Veterans Health Administration grew its workforce by 7.4% in fiscal 2023. That’s more than double its goal for the year, and a net increase of more than 28,000 employees. Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal said this is the agency’s highest rate of workforce growth in more than 15 years. “We now have more end strength than we’ve ever had, more than 400,000 employees." The VA is aggressively hiring to handle an aging veteran population, as well as more veterans seeking care and benefits under the toxic-exposure PACT Act.
(VHA more than doubles FY 2023 workforce growth target, ramps up HR hiring - Federal News Network)

The Defense Health Agency creates nine new defense health networks to improve health care to the military. They're part of phase one of the agency’s advancement plan, which will help streamline its work with medical departments, enhance collaboration across headquarters and the rest of the organization and improve response times and health care delivery. This will realign the prior 20 medical markets, made up of military hospitals and clinics, into nine Defense Health Networks. Each military hospital and clinic will report to one of these networks, which will be led by a general or flag officer.
(Defense Health Agency establishes nine health networks to improve health care delivery - https://www.health.mil/News/Dvids-Articles/2023/10/12/news455660 )

The 66,000 students at the Defense Department’s schools spend more time taking standardized tests than those in traditional public schools. These range from 15 to 38 days for students in kindergarten to twelfth grade. In traditional public schools, the average is 16 days. The Defense Department agreed with recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office to address unnecessary testing and time spent on tests across its districts.
(DoD schools should reduce testing times, report find - Government Accountability Office )

A top U.S. counterintelligence office is providing a blueprint for how organizations can defend themselves from modern spying threats. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center said U.S. adversaries are blurring the lines between traditional spying and economic espionage. The NCSC released a new guide this month laying out how non-intelligence organizations can mitigate risks ranging from cyber attacks to influence campaigns. The center said some best practices include setting up an insider threat program, and establishing policies around foreign contacts.
(Enterprise risk mitigation blueprint for non-intelligence agencies - Office of the Director of National Intelligence )

Big changes are coming to how the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency manages the infrastructure behind official government websites. Agency website managers take note - CISA will set up a new registrar for requesting .gov domain names in November. The updated process will be fully digital and won’t require a physical signature. CISA is pausing all requests for new .gov domains until January. CISA is also moving .gov to a new Domain Name System service and setting up a fresh website where you can learn more about .gov. The changes are intended to make it easier for government organizations to set up a .gov website, while also making the .gov domain more secure.
(.gov: An update on our transition - get.gov )

The Partnership for Public Service is out with the latest crop of Service to America Medals, or "Sammies," winners. For 2023, Laura Cooper has earned the Federal Employee of the Year award. Cooper leads the Defense Department's team that coordinates the distribution of supplies to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. Cooper is one of 27 awardees selected for the 2023 Sammies, which are commonly considered the "Oscars" of government service. All of this year's Sammies winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony this evening.
(2023 Service to America Medals - Partnership for Public Service)