Jack Moore is a web editor and general assignment reporter for Federal News Radio.

Federal response to Boston bombings 'swift and substantial,' expert says

Bob Blitzer, former chief of the FBI's domestic Terrorism and Counterterrorism Planning Section, told the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp a substantial joint terrorism task force will draw on federal resources to investigate Monday's bombings in Boston.

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2014 budget takes center stage on Capitol Hill

With the release of the White House's 2014 budget proposal last week, budget season on Capitol Hill is in full swing. But while Congress will be debating the merits of the President's budget plan via a flurry of congressional hearings this week, the permanent director's chair at the Office of Management and Budget remains vacant.

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Congress repeals STOCK Act reporting requirements for senior execs

Congress approved a bill Friday to eliminate expanded financial-disclosure reporting requirements for Senior Executive Service members, just days before the new requirements were to go into effect. Both the House and Senate approved the measure by unanimous consent. The expanded reporting requirements were set to go into effect Monday.

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5 trends and hurdles for the future of effective financial management

From shared services and data-driven decision-making, to shrinking budgets and workforces, Federal News Radio's special report, Rise of the Money People, tracks the emerging trends in effective financial management at federal agencies, and the possible hurdles that stand in the way of saving even more money.

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OPM's John Berry sends farewell email, Kaplan to serve as acting director

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry has made it official - he's stepping down from the agency when his term expires April 13. Elaine Kaplan, OPM's general counsel, will serve as acting director, Berry announced in an email to staff Thursday.

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President's 2014 budget includes pay increase, but retirement changes loom large

Federal employees would see a slight pay bump next year under President Barack Obama's proposed budget for 2014. But at the same time, the White House budget outline proposes sweeping changes to federal employees' retirement benefits, including reductions to annual cost-of-living increases for retirees.

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From islands to log cabins, agencies struggle to offload excess property

The process of disposing of properties that have outlasted their usefulness to the government continues to vex agencies. As part of the special report, Rise of the Money People, Federal News Radio examines why the government has struggled with real-property management and the reform efforts on the table that could help make a difference.

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What the sell? Feds hang 'For Sale' sign on unconventional properties

As part of Federal News Radio special report, Rise of the Money People, Federal News Radio takes a deep-dive look into the properties owned by the federal government and the challenges it faces in offloading excess properties. You won't believe some of the unconventional properties the government still owns.

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Federal retirements exceed expectations for third straight month

For the third month in a row, the number of federal employees filing retirement claims outpaced the Office of Personnel Management's projections. OPM received 10,183 retirement claims in March, more than double the number it expected to receive, according to new OPM data..

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OMB offers updated guidance to agencies facing sequestration cuts

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.

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Feds' view of senior leaders takes a nosedive

Employee satisfaction with agency leadership dipped for the first time in 10 years in 2012, after years of slight but consistent gains. Leadership scores fell to 52.8 points on a 100-point scale, a drop of 2.1 points from 2011 levels, according to a new report from the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte. It's the first time in the last decade that overall scores dropped year-over-year.

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Cost-conscious DoD reduces pricetag of big-ticket acquisition programs

The size and cost of the Defense Department's portfolio of major weapons acquisition programs have fallen to their lowest levels in five years, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. DoD's major weapons portfolio decreased by 10 programs in 2012 -- to 86 programs -- while the total cost of DoD's big-ticket procurements fell by $152 billion to $1.6 trillion.

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CBP postpones 60,000 furloughs, overtime cuts

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.

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Boosted by strong market, TSP funds make gains in March

After a modest showing so far this year, Thrift Savings Plan funds were buoyed by recent record highs on Wall Street and finished the month with solid gains. All five regular funds, in addition to the target-date Lifecycle Funds, finished March in the black for the first time since November.

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VA-DoD health record saga becomes fodder for comedy show

The promise of a single a joint electronic health record system has long stymied the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. And now it's drawn the attention of late-night comedy show "The Daily Show."

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Coburn calls on OPM to fire feds 'paid to do nothing'

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has written to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, saying the office should take steps to offload federal workers and contractors who don't show up for work, aren't performing official duties or "are simply not working at all." In the letter, Coburn, the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said doing so could prevent the need to furlough critical employees under sequestration.

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Congress urged to drop online financial reporting for senior execs

A new report says a law requiring the online posting of senior federal executives' financial information would likely impinge on employees' privacy and wouldn't do much to deter conflicts of interest. The National Academy of Public Administration was tasked by Congress with studying the STOCK Act — short for "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge" — in response to concerns about privacy and identify theft.

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OMB mandates use of shared-service providers for agency financial systems

The Office of Management and Budget is telling agencies to stop building costly, agency-specific systems when they modernize their financial management systems. Instead, going forward, agencies must use a federal shared-services provider when updating their accounting systems, according to a new memo from OMB Controller Danny Werfel.

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VA Chief of Staff John Gingrich to retire

John Gingrich, the chief of staff for the Veterans Affairs Department, is retiring and will leave the agency by the end of the month after 37 years of federal and military service.

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Court ruling could tie OSC's hands when it comes whistleblowers

The Office of Special Counsel is "deeply concerned" about the implications of a federal court ruling that stripped low-level Defense Department employees of their ability to appeal suspensions and demotions outside the agency. OSC, which filed an amicus brief earlier this month with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, is worried the ruling could have a chilling effect on whistleblowers.

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