Emily Kopp Reports 
Top News
- IRS to pay $70M in bonuses, Grassley says
- Senators push Tangherlini for assurances GSA is improving
- As VA works to eliminate one backlog, one more might emerge
- BRAC-like commission proposed to hunt down government cost savings
- Sequestration claims another conference: DHS's GFirst cyber event
- Postal Service closing Capitol Hill post offices in 'symbolic' move
- Senators seek cost cuts for F-35 fighter jet
- Fed pens new furlough song
- Web guru Dorris brings new life to government websites
- EPA CIO Jackson returning to private sector
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- NSA leak case gives vendors reason to reevaluate personnel
- 8 contract executives guilty of 8(a) contracting fraud
- Whistleblower suit leads to $12M false claims settlement by SAIC
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
Emily Kopp covers civilian agencies in the federal government with a focus on workforce issues. Emily's reports can be heard Monday - Friday on the Federal Drive and In Depth.
Postal Service: Out of cash next month
Postal Service officials said they will be insolvent by the end of September unless Congress gives them more control and flexibility over their finances. The USPS board of governors met Friday as the organization reported a third-quarter loss of $3.1 billion.
OPM outlines students' fast track to government jobs
The Office of Personnel Management's proposed regulations would make it easier for agencies to recruit and train students and recent graduates without going through the competitive hiring process.
GSA adds nearly 600 small IT businesses to new contract
The General Services Administration has named 599 small disadvantaged firms to its 8(a) STARS II contract. The governmentwide IT contract, with a ceiling of $10 billion, is bigger and broader than its predecessors.
Hardship all around in FAA dustup
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is urging Congress to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration before lawmakers fly home for the August break. LaHood said 4,000 FAA employees, about 70,000 workers in the private sector and more than 200 airport projects are depending on them.
OPM allows gay couples to receive childcare benefits
The children of federal workers' same-sex partners may qualify for their agency's childcare benefits under a rule proposed Thursday by the Office of Personnel Management. The rule is part of an effort to make family benefits available to all eligible workers wherever possible.
Mica: No end to FAA standstill in sight
House Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) is at the center of the legislative stalemate over FAA reauthorization. He spoke with Federal News Radio about the impact it's having on FAA workers.
Commission begins review of USPS closures
The Postal Regulatory Commission is scheduling public hearings on the Postal Service's plan to consider shutting down nearly 3,700 post offices nationwide.
House committee mulls federal property sales
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on the best way to dispose of nearly 90,000 vacant or underutilized federal properties. While some lawmakers see property sales as a way to generate cash, it's not clear how much the properties are actually worth.
Maryland senators boost small biz cyber role
Witnesses at a Senate field hearing in Laurel, Md. said the government's tight budget is tough on the small businesses that are bidding for cybersecurity contracts. Federal agency representatives, on the other hand, say they're reaching out to small businesses.
Frustrated federal unions plan public appeal
Federal unions and associations haven't gotten far in their attempts to convince Congress not to cut federal workers' salaries, retirement or resources. Now they're taking that message to the public through media spots and demonstrations.
Unions step up protest against pay cuts, benefits
Unions are intensifying their cries against proposed cuts to federal workers' pay and benefits.
CBP officers begin to earn greater retirement benefits
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has implemented a 2008 law that puts Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers on par with law enforcement officers when it comes to earning greater retirement benefits and qualifying for early retirement. It also requires CBP officers to retire by age 57.
Unions rally against debt-limit retirement cuts
The two largest federal unions are urging feds to stand up against proposed cuts to federal pay and retirement by calling Congressional leaders and rallying in New York. Last week, 21 federal unions sent a letter to Treasury and OMB demanding to know what would happen to federal employees should Congress and the White House fail to raise the debt ceiling but got no response.
OMB sets minimum telework security requirements
The administration's new memo instructs agencies to secure the information, programs and networks used by employees working outside the office, and to prevent employees from using government resources to access porn.
Unions demand to know debt ceiling impact on feds
A coalition of 21 groups representing five-million federal employees and retirees wrote a letter to OMB and Treasury asking for information about what happens to federal workers if the debt ceiling isn't raised. NTEU is planning a rally in New York to oppose proposed cuts to federal employees pay and benefits.
