Commerce Department
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NOAA planes used for tracking and forecasting hurricanes -- known as the P-3 Orion -- are reaching the end of their lifespan, according to a report published by the Government Accountability Office.
July 16, 2014 -
An executive in the Patent and Trademark Office was found to have violated several federal laws when she used her position to get a relative's boyfriend a job in her agency. The inspector general of the Commerce Department investigated the matter after getting a tip from a whistleblower.
July 14, 2014 -
The former FAA and DHS CIO is taking a third tour of duty in government and will replace Simon Szykman.
June 11, 2014 -
The Census Bureau is doing a good job following directions as it prepares for the 2020 census in the face of mandatory budget cuts the past two years. Todd Zinser is Inspector General of the Commerce Department. He's looking at how closely the Census Bureau is following its financial guidance for absorbing the cuts and preparing for 2020 and can still see some room to improve.
June 04, 2014 -
Chief human capital officers say the inability to do targeted internship announcements is frustrating and reducing effectiveness of the program. The Office of Personnel Management says it's working with agencies to address these challenges, including initiatives to target specific skillsets.
June 04, 2014 -
After nearly a year on the job, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker says people and customer service are the leading priorities for her agency. She says she is paying close attention to how every one of her initiatives supports them. Secretary Pritzker sat down with Executive Editor Jason Miller for an exclusive interview about Commerce's progress in meeting her strategic vision. Read Jason's related article.
May 15, 2014 -
After nearly a year on the job, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker is overseeing progress against five strategic pillars, including innovation, trade and management. She said she's trying to make sure employees feel connected to the vision and mission of the agency.
May 15, 2014 -
A key IT problem at the Commerce Department turns out to be a communications problem. A breakdown in information exchange caused the response to a possible network breach at one of the agency's bureaus to be much worse than it had to be. Todd Zinser, inspector general at the Commerce Department, tells In Depth with Francis Rose where his team started in trying to diagnose the problem.
May 13, 2014 -
More than half of senior executives surveyed by the Senior Executives Association are reporting "low" or "very low" morale with their jobs. The problem lies with a pay-for-performance system where some supervisors make less money than the people they lead. Increasing numbers of senior executive service members are ready to leave the federal government altogether.
May 02, 2014 -
The Commerce Department's International Trade Administration will open an office in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The country's economy, once virtually closed, is now growing at more than 6.5 percent a year. The decision to open an office is part of an effort to help U.S. businesses navigate emerging markets in Asia and Africa. Holly Vineyard, deputy assistant secretary for Asia at the International Trade Administration, explained to Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp why Commerce picked Myanmar for the first new office.
April 25, 2014 -
Federal CTO Todd Park and other White House officials unveiled a new set of initiatives Thursday designed to help businesses and consumers avoid unnecessary and costly patent litigation.
February 21, 2014 -
Simon Szykman announced to staff today he is leaving the agency to work in the private sector. He said he has no plans yet and will stay at the agency until a new CIO is hired. Additionally, Anil Karmel has left the NNSA after serving more than two years as the deputy chief technology officer to launch his own cloud computing company.
February 20, 2014 -
The White House will release an updated list of agency high-priority goals and cross-agency priority goals with the annual budget request to Congress in March. Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget detailed agency successes over the last two years in meeting current goals.
February 14, 2014 -
The Senate confirmed Sloan Gibson to be the next deputy secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Patrick Gallagher, is heading off to academia.
February 13, 2014 -
Kathryn Sullivan, the acting under secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, sent an email to staff today announcing she was lifting the hiring freeze ban on non-mandatory training NOAA put in place last year to offset the impact of sequestration.
January 31, 2014