Oversight News 
Top News
- Hagel: Accountability breakdown a leading factor in sexual assaults
- ODNI's Liberty Crossing complex closed today
- SES bonuses under fire at GSA, other agencies
- VA's Gould moves the needle on VA challenges
- Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists
- Causey: Saintly media vs. government devils
- White House wants to root out copycat programs - starting with STEM
- Treasury officials told of IRS probe in June 2012
- Obama appoints Danny Werfel acting IRS head
- In fight over intelligence IT system, Army prioritizes access to data
- House bill protects homeland security budget
- Intelligence Community free from furloughs
- OMB fuels the passion, synergy between mobile, open data
- GAO, OMB spar over whether to measure data center cost savings
- Agencies craving STEMM talent should bolster skills of persuasion
- DoD wants to know real costs of IT business systems
- Monday federal headlines - May 20, 2013
Management News
Obama appoints DoD acquisition policy chief to head spending watchdog
President Barack Obama announced he will appoint Richard Ginman, the director of Defense Department procurement policy, to chair the Government Accountability and Transparency Board (GATB), a spending and transparency watchdog. Ginman has served as the director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) for a little more than year.
DOJ IG called to investigate whistleblowers' safety
Lawmakers ask for DoJ's IG to investigate the effectiveness of the agency's efforts to protect the whistleblowers in the Fast and Furious case. After alleged negative and potential threatening comments by an ATF official, lawmakers are concerned if the motive is vindictive.
House oversight committee OKs GSA-inspired bills
Two new bills advance to the Congress floor in regards to the 2010 GSA Scandal. These bills, if affirmed, will hold executives accountable for misappropriations of funding, and also necessitate agencies to provide rundowns for all conferences spending.
OSC warns agencies of email monitoring restrictions
The Office of Special Counsel is reminding agencies not to target email monitoring of employees that could have a chilling effect on whistleblowers who report waste, fraud and abuse.
Agency officials tout progress on security clearances
Agency officials from the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management, along with a handful of other agencies, cited significant improvements in both timeliness and accuracy in the security-clearance program at a Senate subcommittee. The agencies agreed, however, much work remained to maintain that progress and to take on new challenges, such as reciprocity and reinvestigation.
Devaney: 'Long past due' for governmentwide spending oversight
Agencies and lawmakers, seeking to implement accountability and transparency practices governmentwide, are taking a page from the Recovery Board's playbook. One of the successes of the RAT Board was in changing the way agencies dealt with erroneous or improper payments, said Earl Devaney, the former chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and now a senior adviser at Reznick Government.
NSA clears up misconceptions about compliance
In his first interview ever, John DeLong, the compliance director at the National Security Agency, clears up the misconceptions that exist about his job as well as the work done in his office. He says compliance is where rules intersect with technology, people and the activities at NSA.
Prince William becomes search and rescue captain
Royal officials say Prince William has qualified as an operational search and rescue captain in the Royal Air Force.
Obama picks GMU prof to replace Jaczko at NRC
President Barack Obama said he plans to nominate Allison Macfarlane to lead the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, just days after the embattled head of the agency announced he would step down.
Fed salaries, USPS, and more
Host Mike Causey will talk about several issues affecting federal workers with Bill Bransford, general counsel of the Senior Executives Association and Steve Watkins and Stephen Losey of the Federal Times.
May 23, 2012
Senators digging into GSA conferences in all regions
Two high-ranking senators requested information about conference travel and spending in all GSA regions in a detailed letter on Friday.
IG offices thrive despite lack of permanent leadership
Ten agencies do not have Senate-confirmed inspectors generals. Four have been waiting for more than 1,000 days for a nomination or confirmation. But House lawmakers found that agencies without a permanent IG still are making a lot of progress in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
Special counsel letter details air safety concerns
Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner sent a letter to President Barack Obama Tuesday, calling attention to reports of safety lapses at some U.S. commercial aviation facilities. She also criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for delays in responding to whistleblower disclosures.
Geithner: Obama won't ask me to stay in a 2nd term
Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that he doesn't expect to serve a second term as Treasury secretary. He said he doesn't think President Barack Obama would ask him to remain if Obama won re-election.
PTO hiring thousands under new law
The law aims to ensure the Patent and Trademark Office has the money it needs to reduce a large backlog of unreviewed patent applications. PTO plans to hire as many as 2,000 new patent application examiners.
Senators promote structural changes to DHS
Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee marked up the DHS Authorization bill, complete with 68 amendments. Among the changes approved is requiring the agency to have auditable financial records by 2016.
DoD brass still at 'unprecedented' levels
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained there were 30 layers of bureaucracy between him and an action officer. Despite reforms he led, a new report finds the ratio of generals and admirals to the troops they lead remains unprecedentedly high.
DoD failed to report misspent funds, lawmakers claim
Pentagon found more than $800 million in Antideficiency Act violations from 2005 and 2008, but never reported these violations to Congress, lawmakers say.
Feds face tougher rules to interact with lobbyists
A proposed rule by the Office of Government Ethics expands the mandates for political appointees about contact with lobbyists or lobbying organizations detailed in a January 2009 executive order. The suggested changes focus on two main areas, widely attended events and gifts worth less than $50.
House crafting CR to prevent government shutdown
Lawmakers are working on a continuing resolution to fund the government through late fall. Congress has not approved any of the 12 appropriations bills necessary to keep agencies running after the fiscal year ends in three weeks.
