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Horace Blackman, a long-time Veterans Affairs IT executive, also leaves for the private sector, joining Lockheed Martin.
The Internal Revenue Service and the National Treasury Employees Union reached an agreement that will see the IRS pay frontline employees performance awards starting in the spring. Acting IRS chief Danny Werfel canceled payouts of the awards last July, even though the union said the agency was obligated to pay them.
Danny Werfel has resigned from his position of controller of the Office of Management Budget and left the federal government. He had served as controller since October 2009.
Todd Grams, the chief of staff of the Internal Revenue Service, announced Friday he's retiring after 34 years of federal service, according to a note to staff obtained by Federal News Radio. Grams was named IRS chief of staff in June at the request of Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel in the wake of a leadership shakeup following revelations the agency had improperly targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny.
IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel announced to staff Wednesday the agency was postponing the agencywide furlough day scheduled for Aug. 30.
The revelations of improper targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service has so far been isolated to lower-level offices. But the former head of the IRS says an overall failure of leadership must be corrected if the embattled agency wants to rebuild its reputation. Mark Everson, head of the IRS under George W. Bush, told Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp President Barack Obama should appoint a permanent IRS commissioner.
Senate lawmakers are promising to change the laws to let agencies have easier access to the Death Master File and other key databases. Starting June 1, agencies must check the Do Not Pay list before issuing any money.
Federal chief financial officers have more foresight, insight and hindsight than ever before to make better decisions. But just as important as having these wide-ranging sight lines is how they are being translated down to the program level. Experts say agencies are slowly heading down the path of using data to make better decisions.
News and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.
Ray Bjorklund of Birch Grove Consulting, LLC, sheds some light on the 2014 budget numbers. Michael Wood, Recovery Board executive director, discusses that board's oversight of Hurricane Sandy funding. Kay Daly, assistant IG at HHS, talks about financial management and oversight at her agency.
Pundits may question whether Congress should have approved $804 billion in stimulus money via the Recovery Act of 2009. But many in government have come to realize that the independent agency charged with overseeing how that money was spent -- the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board -- has a lot to teach financial managers about ensuring transparency and rooting out waste in government spending.
Nearly 23 years after the seminal CFO Act became law, agencies have met its spirit and intent, experts say. CFOs today quickly are becoming more than just number crunchers. They are now masters of data analytics aimed at improving agencies' missions.
The Office of Management and Budget has directed agencies to take full advantage of the funding flexibilities they have under law as they implement across-the-board sequestration cuts, that went into effect March 1. In an April 4 memo, OMB Controller Danny Werfel also directed agency and department leaders to be mindful of certain types of performance awards and to work with agency inspectors general before making cuts to IG offices.
DoD says it's committed to making sure civilians are not furloughed in fiscal 2014, which begins in October. But if sequestration remains in place, the alternative would almost certainly be involuntary reductions in force for both civilian workers and uniformed service members, officials say.