DoD expanding hiring flexibilities to reduce military spouse unemployment

• The Defense Department is expanding hiring flexibilities in an effort to reduce the persistently high unemployment rate among military spouses, which has held steady at around 22%, or about five times the national average. DoD Education Activity schools will now be allowed to hire military spouses as soon as they receive official change of station orders, instead of waiting until 30 days before their move. Anthony Tata, defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness, also called on hiring managers to consider military spouses for non-competitive appointments before other candidates. The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues its efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through early retirement offers, resignation incentives and a governmentwide hiring freeze.
  (DoD seeks to expand hiring flexibilities to reduce military spouse unemployment - Social media platform X)
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing a proposal to build a massive Google data center that could impact federally protected wetlands. The project would include five industrial buildings and supporting infrastructure and is expected to use more than 100 megawatts of power. According to the Corps, the development would result in the filling of nearly 17 acres of wetlands and more than 6,000 feet of streams. Officials say the project is being evaluated for environmental impacts, including potential effects on endangered species and historic resources. The Corps is now asking for public comments before deciding whether to approve or deny the permit. Public comments will be accepted through May 1.
  (Army Corps reviews Google data center proposal, seeks public input - Army Corps of Engineers)
• Congress gave the Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to go above a $400,000 salary cap for doctors in specialized fields. But Democratic lawmakers say the department isn’t making use of this authority. The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act allows the VA to go above these pay caps for up to 300 physicians, podiatrists, optometrists and dentists. VA Secretary Doug Collins said addressing this pay cap is a priority. A VA spokesperson said the VA is working to implement this provision of the Dole Act in a way that benefits as many veterans as possible.
  (Blumenthal, Takano & colleagues blast VA secretary for ignoring authority to help recruit and retain doctors - Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

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• One organization is projecting nearly $71 billion in costs related to recent federal workforce overhauls. The government paid $4.5 billion for federal employees not to work under the deferred resignation offer last year, at least according to one estimate. New data analysis from the Partnership for Public Service also calculated $440 million spent on paid leave for probationary employees as court orders played out. Trump administration officials have pushed back against similar cost estimates, saying that efforts like the deferred resignation program will save costs in the long run.
  (The government paid $4.5 billion to feds who took the DRP, one estimate shows - Federal News Network)
• The Office of Personnel Management is looking to clarify the paths that federal employees working in human resources can take to advance their careers. A new resource from OPM called HR Career Compass aims to help HR professionals develop their skills and move up the ladder to senior-level roles and higher salaries. The end goal, OPM said, is to fill the longstanding, governmentwide skills gap in human resources management.
  (HR Career Compass initiative - Office of Personnel Management)
• GSA Administrator Ed Forst marked his 100 days at the helm of the agency. On his first day in office, Forst launched Project 410 to bring speed and agility to improving GSA. Over the last three-plus months, Forst led the effort to reevaluate GSA processes, adopt new technology, implement intelligent risk management and remove barriers to success. Among the major milestones GSA accomplished over the last 100 days includes accelerating the adoption of Login.gov, which now has more than 700 participating government applications, including the launch of enhanced identity verification on Medicare.gov. Another milestone was the sale of GSA’s former regional office building in Washington, D.C., in 60 days. That effort is projected to help GSA avoid paying $205 million costs.
  (GSA administrator marks 100 days in office - General Services Administration)
• Federal agencies have new guidance and tools to streamline and accelerate infrastructure approvals. The Council on Environmental Quality is offering agencies help to establish, revise, adopt and apply categorical exclusions to meet the requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act. The White House said this guidance will relieve infrastructure projects from excessive permitting burdens. Additionally, CEQ recently launched technology tools to streamline the process of applying category exclusions, including the Categorical Exclusion Explorer, an online searchable database of existing CEs. CEQ is also testing CE Works, a technology platform that digitizes the process of completing category exclusions.
  (CEQ's new guidance to help streamline, accelerate infrastructure projects - Council on Environmental Quality)
• The Postal Service is temporarily suspending payments to a governmentwide pension plan, after warning Congress that it’s less than a year away from running out of cash. USPS told the Office of Personnel Management it will hold off paying its contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System, a move that’s expected to conserve cash in the near term. Every other week, USPS pays OPM about $200 million for the FERS annuity. By pausing some of its FERS contributions, USPS expects to free up about $2.5 billion this fiscal year to cover its other costs. The mail agency, which has posted billion-dollar net losses almost every year since 2007, has relied on these extraordinary measures before to cash.
  (USPS suspends contributions to pension plan to delay running out of cash - Federal News Network)

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