Customs and Border Protection
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A customer service representative at the IRS who repeatedly greeted taxpayers calling a help-line with a chant urging President Barack Obama's re-election in 2012 could now be facing significant disciplinary action, according to the Office of Special Counsel. It's one of three cases of improper political activity at the agency recently uncovered by OSC. Meanwhile, three career officials at Customs and Border Protection are under fire by OSC for allegedly manipulating the hiring process to install job candidates favored by political leadership into career appointments.
April 09, 2014 -
Customs and Border Protection has completed an online metamorphosis. The agency has a new and improved website. Melanie Roe, assistant commissioner of the Office of Public Affairs at CBP, talked to In Depth with Francis Rose.
March 28, 2014 -
President Barack Obama is pushing the dozens of agencies that have a hand in the export-import process to speed up processing times and eliminate redundant paperwork requests that hamper companies seeking to export American-made products. Currently, businesses interested in importing or exporting goods must submit reams of paperwork to as many as 48 different federal agencies.
February 19, 2014 -
Agency officials said Thursday that they will switch from a custom-built to a commercial-off-the-shelf approach to modernize TECS, a mainframe system that has been operating for more than a quarter of a century. ICE spent more than $60 million before deciding to change directions after realizing the custom-built approach wouldn't work.
February 10, 2014 -
Union and CBP officials call for reform of outdated OT pay system, saying the purpose of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime was misinterpreted.
January 29, 2014 -
Members of Congress are frustrated at what they see as a failure by the Department of Homeland Security to effectively manage the acquisition practices of its various components, leading to poorly defined requirements and wasted money. But DHS says some of the problems are of Congress' own making.
September 23, 2013 -
Last week, we wrote about the government profiling chicken skeletons from China. Admittedly, the news flow is slow in August, but it was a legitimate story. So we asked why it happens, and what would you do with a pair of chicken skeletons from China. The results, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey, are shocking — for August.
August 20, 2013 -
So what would you do if somebody gave you a gift of a pair of Chinese chicken skeletons? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey asks. Do you put them on the mantle, use them as a centerpiece or quietly re-gift? What Uncle Sam does is check them for bugs and return them to the sender.
August 16, 2013 -
Customs and Border Protection's P-3 aircraft are important parts of the agency's work along the southern border of the United States to stop drugs coming into the country.
August 08, 2013 -
The Homeland Security Department's Border Management Systems Programs Office awarded a contract to Unisys to modernize its border-management systems.
July 22, 2013 -
This week on the Capital Impact radio show, Bloomberg Government examines the law that requires the Defense Department to buy American when outfitting troops. Plus, which contractors will benefit the most from passage of an immigration bill?
July 19, 2013 -
Customs and Border Protection says it will put more resources into border crossings and customs terminals if the local communities pay for it.
July 11, 2013 -
In a reversal of course, U.S. Customs and Border Protection now says it is postponing employee furloughs and will continue to authorize overtime pay. The agency said it is "reevaluating" both the planned furloughs of its 60,000 employees and the elimination of administratively uncontrollable overtime, or AUO, because of new funding granted in the 2013 appropriations bill Congress passed last month.
April 01, 2013 -
News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.
March 22, 2013 -
Employees at TSA, CBP and Bureau of Prisons will no longer be able to work overtime. SSA offers its employees a new round of early retirements to deal with budget shortfalls. AFGE continues to press Congress, White House to stop sequestration.
March 14, 2013