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Hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp bring you the latest news affecting the federal community each weekday morning. Be up-to-date before you step in the office.
OMB ratchets up accountability on high-priority goals
The administration updated Performance.gov with a variety of data to highlight progress against each agency's goals and the cross-agency goals. OMB's Shelley Metzenbaum said the depth of information now on the site puts pressure on agencies to meet or surpass their goals. Interior and Education provide examples of how the discipline that the high-priority goals demanded has positively impacted their agency.
Highest ranked agencies distinguished by strong leadership
NASA, the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation share a common trait that led them to the top ranking for their size class in the Partnership for Public Service's seventh annual Best Places to Work survey. Transportation, OMB and the National Credit Union Administration earn the most improved status by implementing the best practices of the leading agencies.
Military will support inauguration with 13,500 personnel
Military personnel will have a role both in the inaugural parade itself and providing security and support around the hundreds of thousands of people who will descend on the National Mall on Jan. 21.
Embattled Rice bows out; Kerry new front-runner
Susan Rice, the embattled U.N. ambassador, abruptly withdrew from consideration to be the next secretary of state on Thursday after a bitter, weekslong standoff with Republican senators who declared they would fight to defeat her nomination.
GSA expands discounted commodity IT program
The General Services Administration announced Thursday it had awarded 43 blanket-purchase agreements to small businesses to provide discounted commodity IT through the agency's National Information Technology Commodity Program (NITCP). The NITCP is designed to provide agencies a one-stop shop for the most commonly purchased, low-cost IT products.
Border Patrol to stop interpreting
U.S. Border Patrol agents will no longer serve as interpreters when local law enforcement agencies request language help, according to a new decree issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
Couple navigates FERS-CSRS retirement divide
As part of the special series, FERS: 25 Years Later, Federal News Radio welcomed to its studios a retired federal couple, Neil Schiff and Linda Habenstreit who represent the federal retirement divide. When Schiff retired from the FBI's Office of Public Affairs, he was a FERS enrollee. His wife, a long-time public affairs specialist in the Agriculture Department's Foreign Agricultural Service, was covered by CSRS.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Dec. 13, 2012
Pamela Wright talks about innovation and paper records at NARA. Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service elaborates about the best federal agencies to work based on the nonprofit group's survey. A retired federal couple, one is on FERS and the other on CSRS, tell how they make it work.
Thursday morning federal headlines - Dec. 13, 2012
The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air. In today's news, Partnership for Public Service has released a survey of where you can or can't find the happiest federal workers and DHS has been given a deadline for a clean audit.
'Best Place to Work?' -- Not so much
The Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte released the 2012 Best Places to Work in Federal Government rankings today. While some agencies improved their employee satisfaction rankings, the majority did not, resulting in the greatest overall change -- a 3.2 point drop -- since the rankings began.
Sequestration worse than thought, Pentagon frets
As planning begins for sequestration, the military may have to cut billions more than previously imagined. DoD, like all agencies, is waiting for instruction from the OMB on how to reduce their budget.
In deficit talks, fed groups fear alternatives could cut benefits
Many in government are worried about the threat of sequestration, the across-the-board budget cuts set to take effect in January unless Congress and the White come up with an alternative deficit-cutting plan. But federal employee groups and sympathetic lawmakers are also concerned about such alternatives -- if they contain changes to federal employee pay or compensation. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and a slate of federal-employee unions and groups are warning of such proposals in the deficit talks to replace sequestration.
25 years later, FERS still 'excellent' plan for feds
Arthur Stein, a financial planner and former federal manager, told The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp Wednesday that FERS has been a boon for feds, both young and old.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Dec. 12, 2012
Dr. A. Hunter Fanney talks about a house the NIST Engineering Lab is using to study green technologies. Dr. Cheryl Martin discusses the Energy Department's recent round of grants to foster new technology. Financial Planner Arthur Stein discusses the impact of FERS over the last 25 years. Pete Kasperowicz of The Hill newspapers reviews upcoming legislation on Capitol Hill.
Wednesday morning federal headlines - Dec. 12, 2012
The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air. In today's news, Maryland is receiving money for road improvements near Walter Reed Medical Center and the Agriculture Department has eased its nutritional rules for school lunches.
TSA's playbook keeps terrorists guessing
The agency developed a playbook to help officials keep their processes and procedures unpredictable. Deputy Administrator John Halinski said TSA is using a risk-management approach to protecting transportation systems. GAO said DHS as a whole is doing a better job using risk to make decisions.
What federal applicants should know about polygraph tests
More and more Americans reported last year to having to submit to a polygraph examination in the quest of a coveted security clearance for federal employment or to keep a federal job. But unless you are like George Washington and you "cannot tell a lie" about cutting down the cherry tree, this controversial method could leave you rattled and unaware that you might have incriminated yourself during the process.
Agencies turn to social media to engage public in an emergency
During Hurricane Sandy, agencies like FEMA and NOAA used various social media platforms to communicate with the public. They were able to dispel rumors and follow the situation on the ground as it unfolded.
Survey: Limits on MSPB resources affect employee productivity
A closer look at the results of the Merit Systems Protection Board's 2012 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) reveals that the limits of the agency's resources are having a negative effect on it employee's ability to do their jobs.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Dec. 11, 2012
Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment talks about possible defense cuts due to sequestration. Attorney Bill Bransford discusses the legal ramifications of lie detectors. Social media expert Justin Herman of the GSA explains how social media is being used in the aftermath of emergencies. John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service ponders what may be in store for feds in 2013. Paul Verkuil explains what the Administrative Conference of the United States has been up to.





