Ruben Gomez covers civilian agencies with a focus on workforce issues.

Census managers, employees take backseat-driver role in reorg

Bureau leadership has relied heavily on ideas from the workforce as the agency pushes ahead with its first major reorganization in 50 years. The goal is to create a more efficient and effective Census Bureau, officials say.

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Failed leadership blamed for VA conference spending scandal

Two Veterans Affairs Department training conferences held last summer in Orlando, Fla., contained as much as $762,000 in wasteful spending and were plagued by poor planning and oversight, according to an inspector general report released Monday.

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IGs tell managers, employees to beef up fight against workplace fraud

Agency leaders take steps to show they're serious about employee fraud. Too often, they're relying on the inspector general's office to detect corruption.

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Agencies face clunky switch to agile IT development

Departments face challenges with contracting, hardware and policies, two years after OMB included agile development in its 25-point IT reform plan. The approach aims to make development more effective and efficient, but the switch itself has been far from agile.

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Small agencies' sequestration plans build from budget frustrations

The congressional ritual of punting budget work into the next fiscal year has helped agencies prepare their workforces for sequestration. Managers have learned much over the past few years about preparing contingency plans.

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Budget pressures lead to missed contracting deadlines for CBP

The agency has chosen to let some acquisition schedules slip, as a solution to constrained budgets. By doing so, CBP increases the likelihood of successful acquisition projects, said an agency executive.

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Berry aims to nix HR from high risk list in the next year

Cyber criminals might unknowingly provide the impetus to help agencies address a cybersecurity skills gap. OPM also is working with agencies to address other shortfalls in key workforce competencies.

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Support of federal workforce misses mark by a wide margin

Labor groups hoped to see more progress by now. But the administration has failed to live up to expectations about pay, benefits and government service.

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DoD, VA's health IT efforts grow out of leadership, necessity

The agencies soon will issue solicitations that will take them one step closer to deploying integrated electronic health records for service members, veterans and their families. The departments have been working on the project for years but have only recently begun to demonstrate tangible progress.

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Census asks employees to grade themselves to cut costs

Agency leaders hope employees will help the Census Bureau fill critical workforce skills gaps. The self-assessments are aimed at upgrading the way workers collect, process and analyze data about the U.S. ahead of the 2020 census.

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Interior reduces hiring time, manager paper cuts

The Interior Department's new, simplified hiring process has slashed hiring time by more than 100 days. Much of the change results from less paperwork for managers, a department leader told Federal News Radio.

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AFGE's Cox eyes bigger, better union

The union's new president hopes to add more than 20,000 federal employees to its membership within a year. J. David Cox hopes "underrepresented" parts of government will fuel that growth.

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Derecho strikes GSA right in the cloud

The thunderstorm in June knocked out GSA's connection, threatening some of the agency's core operations. GSA's chief information officer Casey Coleman said agencies should consider enlisting secondary Internet access providers to ensure connectivity during emergencies.

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NTEU survey finds broad public support for vital federal programs

A new survey from the National Treasury Employees Union finds two-thirds of Americans said Congress should raise taxes on the country's wealthiest citizens before cutting vital public services. However, others say the survey didn't ask the right questions.

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Veterans group calls for legislative fix to VA contracting rule

Vietnam Veterans of America alleges the Veterans Affairs Department's service-disabled veteran-owned business set aside program is keeping legitimately qualified companies from competing for VA contracts. The group advocates loosening a rule that requires service-disabled veterans maintain unconditional control of all business decisions.

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Medina advocates better CHCO communication to stop budget axe

Federal chief human capital officers should develop a consistent message about the effects of budget cuts on human resources, said CHCO Council Executive Director Kathryn Medina. The goal is to explain the tangible effects of spending reductions on core agency missions.

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Taskforce extends deadline for ideas on cloud ID management

The goal is for federal websites to accept third- party ID management credentials. The Federal Cloud Credential Exchange (FCCX) Tiger Team wants to know more about existing commercial products and services that can help.

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Johnson planning bill to change VA small business contracting process

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) believes a VA contracting program that requires service-disabled vets control 100 percent of their company's decision-making to qualify is too onerous. And he wants to ease the requirements.

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Lawmakers say VA contracting rule squeezing out vet-owned firms

The rule, aimed at preventing fraud in the VA service-disabled veteran-owned small business program, requires that veterans control 100 percent of company decisions, even if they maintain just partial ownership. VA is taking suggestions for changing its rules.

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DHS IG partners with CBP, ICE to investigate workforce corruption

The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general partnered with both Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to investigate an increasing number of cases. Leaders of all three reported to a House subcommittee hearing that the collaboration has benefited the investigation process.

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