USDA News 
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- 5 percent of federal workers to be furloughed Friday
- Congress pressures agencies to speed up office consolidations
- Katherine Archuleta chosen as next OPM director
- Data breach puts DHS workers at risk of identity theft
- DoD chooses interoperability over integration for new e-health record system
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB fuels synergy between mobile, open data
- IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'
- Accountability breakdown leading factor in DoD sexual assaults
- OMB reworking financial system requirements
- Federal retirement funds temporarily tapped
- VanRoekel to lead OMB management team
- Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal finalists
- Thursday federal headlines - May 23, 2013
FDA, USDA need to manage flood of imported food, experts say
The Institute of Medicine said the Food and Drug Administration, Agriculture Department and other agencies should pony up some resources to batten down the hatches on imports.
USDA eyes airports for alternative energy production
Travis DeVault, project leader for USDA's National Wildlife Research Center in Sandusky, Ohio, told The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about the project.
USDA takes direct approach to managing workforce, reducing costs
Billy Milton, chief human capital officer at the USDA, tells The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about the Agriculture Department's successful approach to managing its workforce in tough budgetary times.
Cutting, investing aren't mutually exclusive, federal CIO says
Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel wants agencies to cut spending and invest in new capabilities at the same time. Savings from outdated or inefficient IT projects can be plowed into new innovations, he said.
Emails show White House input on Sherrod ouster
White House officials were in close contact with the Agriculture Department in the hours leading up to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's decision to fire USDA employee Shirley Sherrod in 2010, according to administration emails.
USDA CIO Smith to leave
Chris Smith is moving on after more than three years as the Agriculture Department's lead technology manager. He helped make major change to the agency's infrastructure, in part by moving email to the cloud.
USDA uses Twitter to issue urgent food safety alerts
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service passes on urgent food safety information to the 250,000 people following the main @USDAFoodSafety Twitter feed.
USDA office to cut staff by 150
The Agriculture Department's Natural Resources Conservation Service wants to trim its ranks by 300 employees by end of the year. NRCS plans to offer 900 employees the chance to take buyouts or early retirements.
USDA cracks down on food stamp fraud
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking a harder line on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program.
DHS wants to ride commercial wave for interoperable radio network
After a decade of unsuccessful attempts, including the Justice Department's Integrated Wireless Network, the Homeland Security Department wants to leap forward with technology by using commercial 4G networks to connect law enforcement agencies. DHS created a joint program office to lead the effort. The approach is part of OMB's shared services initiative for agencies to work together on big programs.
Discretionary Budget Authority 2008-2013
A look at the discretionary budget authority for Cabinet-level agencies from 2008-2013.
Survey: Telework still elusive at many agencies
Many agencies are not as gung-ho on telework as the Obama Administration or lawmakers would have it, according to a recent Congressional Research Service survey. The Department of Veterans Affairs allows just one-tenth of its employees to telework. At other agencies, most workers who are eligible to telework do not.
OMB to expand permit-tracking initiative
President Obama told the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness Tuesday the administration would create performance metrics, track progress and adapt best practices for reducing the red tape for businesses.
Buyouts possible after USDA office closures
The Agriculture Department's closing of 259 offices could result in buyout offers, said the agency's deputy secretary. This week Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the closures would save about $150 million year in the agency's $145 billion budget.
Managed broadband services
Host John Gilroy will talk cloud computing with Tony Bardo, assitant vice president for Government Solutions at Hughes.
January 10, 2012
What 's the impact of USDA's big shrink?
The big shrink is on at the Agriculture Department. The department announced plans to close 259 offices, labs and other facilities. Government Executive Editor-in-Chief Tom Shoop joined In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss what the department's plan means, both for itself and as a model for other agencies.
Closing of 259 USDA offices raises safety concerns
The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move that won praise for cutting costs but raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.
Hubert Sparks reflects on four decades of auditing agencies
Appalachian Regional Commission Inspector General Hubert Sparks has tried to retire twice, but keeps coming back to government. After 43 years, this will be his last, Sparks said.
Recovery Act spending exceeds CBO's estimates
Actual spending of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds between February 2009 and September 2011 exceeded Congressional Budget Office estimates by $20 billion or about 4 percent, according to a post on the CBO Director's blog.
Will 2012 be the year agencies focus on succession planning?
Pressure is growing on agencies to draft formal succession plans. There's good reason to believe more feds retired in late 2011 than in recent years, although the final count is not yet out.
