Danny Werfel

Though the latest Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings show the resiliency of agencies in the face of a tumultuous 2019, they also point to some unsettling signs for organizations facing reorganization and relocation.

Current and former federal real property experts have suggested a civilian version of the Defense Department’s controversial base realignment and closure (BRAC) process.

The IRS’s decision to begin this year’s tax filing season on time, and to start issuing tax refunds despite a partial government shutdown, appears legally sound, according to former government officials, but raises logistical questions from lawmakers and current agency employees.

The Trump administration’s plan to reduce non-defense discretionary spending by 10 percent means civilian agencies will need to look at programs and personnel, not just for this year, but for the long-term. Some fiscal observers says it’s time to consider budget process reform.

Legislation proposed by a House Republican would eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency by the end of 2018. Some say it’s political grandstanding, while others suggest maybe it’s time for an update to EPA. But what would it take to dismantle a large federal agency?

President Barack Obama in February presented his eighth and final budget, which includes a list of programs he’d like to see reduced or ended. How and why do programs end up on the chopping block, and what might save them from the cut?

Call it the eighth year syndrome. It’s the last year of a presidency and scores of politically appointed slots throughout the federal government are vacant, and likely to stay that way until the next administration comes in. How do career executives manage through it? Federal Drive with Tom Temin gets some advice from Danny Werfel, former acting IRS commissioner and long-time federal financial exec. He’s now a director in the public sector practice at the Boston Consulting Group.

In Depth’s Francis Rose and OMB Controller Danny Werfel talk strategy when it comes to the fight against the rising number of improper payments in the federal government.

The governmentwide improper payment rate jumped 14 percent during the last fiscal year to more than $124 billion. The Office of Management and Budget is working on a new reporting matrix for agencies to figure out who and what is responsible for all that money. Danny Werfel, director of the Boston Consulting Group and former OMB controller, talks to In Depth with Francis Rose about the new reporting matrix.

Agencies lose a new record of $125 billion in improper payments last year. Twenty-two different agencies committed errors, and three programs account for $93 billion in improper payments. One of those programs is the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has a 27 percent error rate. Danny Werfel, director of Boston Consulting Group and former acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, is writing for the Centre for Public Impact. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose why cutting government waste isn’t as simple as it might seem.