Pinterest helps Navy meet non-traditional audience
Pinterest is among the three most popular social media tools and the fastest growing. Most importantly for the Navy, Pinterest users are creative, engaged and more than 60 percent are female--helping the service reach a non-traditional audience.
Overturning DOMA could afford federal benefits for same-sex couples
Other than those in the nine states and the District of Columbia, there are about 18,000 same-sex couples in California that were allowed to wed before voters overturned a state Supreme Court decision to allowed same-sex marriages. If the Supreme Court strikes down DOMA, same-sex spouses would start to receive federal benefits, but the decision would not require states to allow same-sex marriages.
DOE overpaid Oak Ridge contractor salaries
In the two most extreme cases, one executive's annual base salary determination was 82 percent higher than the market rate, from $164,889 to $299,800. Another executive was paid 74 percent higher than the calculated market rate, from $194,400 to $337,581, according to the report.
Justices question whether Prop 8 case should be heard
"If the issue is letting the states experiment and letting the society have more time to figure out its direction, why is taking a case now the answer?" Justice Sonya Sotomayor said. Justice Anthony Kennedy also asked Charles Cooper, the lawyer defending supporters of Proposition 8, to address why the court should take and decide the case.
Most U.S. river and stream miles in poor biological condition
The survey is the first statistically based survey of the condition of the nation's rivers and streams, the EPA says. In 2008 and 2009, field crews sampled nearly 2,000 randomly selected river and stream sites that ranged from major rivers to small creeks.
Congress needs institutionalized sources of expertise, paper says
The paper says the Congressional Research Service and Government Accountability Office have been inadequate. Their reports are "dense and text-heavy even as the demographic of congressional staff gets younger, more tech-dependent and more expectant of tweet-sized input."
Land and space detectors needed to catalog city-destroying asteroids
At the present budget levels, not taking into account sequestration, it would be 2030 before NASA identified and characterized 90 percent of the 140-meter or larger NEOs, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a March 19 House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing.
Task force calls for more 'evidence based' treatment of veterans
The assessment tool the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments use to assess cognitive function after a head injury, the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metric, lacks clear scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness, says a report from an Institute of Medicine task force.
No furlough for prison employees, other agencies still examining sequestration cuts
Federal prison employees won't be furloughed, but other agencies are examining how the latest continuing resolution will affect their employees.The Defense Department pushed back furloughs due to the new CR and will reevaluate whether it needs to furlough any of its 800,000 civilian employees by April 5.
National forest land inadequately protected from oil spills, says USDA OIG
The Forest Service doesn't require oil and gas companies that drill in national forests to provide spill plans because it says doing so would duplicate other federal requirements--but a report from the Agriculture Department office of inspector general says the Forest Service isn't taking enough responsibility.
DOE relying too heavily on contractors, independent oversight needed for large projects, DOE aquisition director says
The Energy Department has relied too heavily on its architecture and engineering contractors and started projects before construction was properly planned, causing project costs to spiral out of control, DOE Director Acquisition and Project Management Paul Bosco said in a March 22 House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
Census looks to cut canvassing, rely more on outside records
The 2020 Census may cost billions of dollars less than anticipated if the Census Bureau can reduce its labor-intensive door-to-door canvassing and take more information from national records, a new report from the Government Accountability Office says.
Congress finds money for programs feeling pinch of sequestration
While the continuing resolution upholds the $85 billion in sequestration cuts across the board, funds were moved around within departments, something that agencies can't do on their own.
Senate passes $3.7 trillion budget
The Senate approved a $3.7 trillion budget for the coming fiscal year March 23, its first in 4 years, days after it voted to reject a budget champtioned by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
No 'fat' at NIST, says National Research Council representative
If Congress does not fully-fund NIST, Ross Corotis, a member of NRC's laboratory assessments board, recommends the agency avoid an across-the-board cut to all programs as that approach would impact quality. Rather, NIST should prioritize what areas it wants to focus on. "They should cut out some things rather than trying to continue doing all they're doing," he said.
Opinion still divided over whether spending bill forces USPS Saturday letter delivery
In its legislation, Congress references a provision that has been included in every spending bill since 1983 that requires USPS to make deliveries 6 days a week if the agency wants the $90 million appropriation.
Background checks for guns already strain FBI resources
Just to keep up with the surge in gun purchases since the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Conn. last December, the FBI's background check workforce has grown from about 300 to 500 examiners, Mueller told the House Appropriations subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies.
Spotlight: Pentagon delays furloughs
House Oversight committee approves FOIA and GAO reform bills
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed bills March 20 that would allow the Government Accountability Office to access federal agency information and make popular Freedom of Information Act requests more available.
Disability claims backlog still problematic for VA
The Veterans Affairs Department has nearly 900,000 pending disability claims, more than 70 percent of which have been pending for more than 125 days, according March 20 testimony before a House Committee. Still, Allison Hickey, under secretary for benefits at VA, said the Veterans Benefits Administration is actually making progress. "VBA employees are completing more compensation claims than ever before in the history of VA," she said.
