STOCK Act hazy on what communication is prohibited, finds GAO
It is difficult to determine whether government information federal employees might give to political intelligence firms stems from public or nonpublic sources at the time of the information exchange, according to an April 4 Government Accountability Office report (.pdf) on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act.
Cass Sunstein on what law professors don't get about government
Among law professors, "it's long been thought that the process of notice and comment is basically kabuki theater," said Cass Sunstein, himself a law professor for decades before heading up OIRA and who has since returned to academia. "That administrative-law sophisticated wisdom, it couldn't be further from the truth," he said at a Brookings Institution event.
Mail delivery delay decreases in fiscal fall 2013, but revenue loss still a risk, report says
Delayed mail declined by 56 percent during the fiscal 2013 fall mailing season and service achievement rose over 90 percent during the same period, says a United States Postal Service office of inspector general report (.pdf). But even with that drop in delays, USPS could lose $3.8 million in revenue is at risk if customers decide to use other methods of mail delivery.
EPA starts first phase of furloughs, IRS to furlough workers up to 7 days
The Environmental Protection Agency will furlough about 17,000 employees for 4 non-consecutive days starting April 21. The first phase of furloughs will run from April 21 to June 15 at which point the EPA will reassess to see if more days are needed. The Internal Revenue Service plans to furlough workers up to 7 days due to sequestration cuts after tax season ends.
OPM proposes rule to let D.C. resident feds run for city office
The district's high concentration of federally employed residents, its unique position as the capital of the United State, and "the partisan nature of its elections for local public office," count as special circumstances, OPM says. An exemption for D.C. residents is also a requirement of the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-230).
Agencies need to need to spend carefully under sequestration, OMB controller says
Agencies should generally use any available flexibility to reduce operational risks and minimize impacts from sequestration on the agency's core mission, Office of Management and Budget Controller Danny Werfel said in a memo (.pdf) to agency heads Thursday.
No 'massive layoffs' at Postal Service, postmaster general says
Speculation about widespread layoffs if the Postal Service ends Saturday letter delivery is unfounded, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in his State of the Postal Service address April 3. He also dismissed the notion that if the Postal Service switches to 5 day delivery, 4 day delivery would follow, then 3 day and so on.
Raising taxes and reforming Social Security key parts of Obama budget proposal, President says in speech
Raising taxes on the wealthy, reforming retirement programs and investing in high-tech manufacturing will help lower the deficit, President Obama said in a weekly radio address previewing his upcoming budget proposal, set to be released April 10.
Arctic could have ice-free summers by 2030, report says
Changes such as warming ocean, soil, and air temperatures; melting permafrost; shifting vegetation and animal abundances and altered characteristics of Arctic cyclones are expected to affect traditional cultures in the region. Those changes put in danger the survival of polar bear and other animal populations, and raise risks of pollution, food supply, safety, cultural losses and national security, the report says.
Erroneous convictions represent 'systemic failure'
Quatitiative and qualitative analysis led researchers to identify the most significant factors that cause erroneous conviction. Report authors claim their model can accurately predict an erroneous conviction versus a near miss nearly 91 percent of the time.
Federal employees not satisfied with agency leadership, report says
Federal employees are feeling less empowered by agency leadership in 2012 than they were in 2011, according to a Partnership for Public Service report (.pdf). Perception that agencies have effective leadership dropped 2.1 points to 52.8 percent, employee feelings of empowerment dropped 2.7 points to 45.8 percent and belief in agency fairness dropped 1.3 points to 53 percent.
Federal hiring drops after sequestration, Gallup poll says
Of the respondents, 41 percent said their employer was reducing the amount of workers and only 23 percent said their employer was expanding the office workforce, the Gallup poll says. That made the Job Creation Index score -18 in March as opposed to -5 in February, before sequestration cuts went into effect.
Military structure needs major overhaul, Hagel says
There needs to be close scrutiny of DoD's organizational chart and command structures, Hagel said. The way the military is run now dates back to the early years of the cold war and the last major re-organization was the Goldwater-Nichols Act, which focused on establishing a clear chain of command with little consideration given to cost or efficiency, Hagel said.
Social media accounts becoming ubiquitous in Congress
Nearly all members of Congress had official Twitter or Facebook accounts as of last year, a new report from the Congressional Research Service says. In the House, three-fourths of members had official accounts on both websites as of January 2012, compared to about two-thirds of senators, says the report, dated March 22 and posted online by Secrecy News.
Deese tapped for OMB deputy director, Zients's post-OMB future unknown
President Barack Obama nominated Brian Deese as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget Monday, according to a White House press release. Obama tapped Sylvia Burwell for the top spot at OMB on March 4. The confirmation process is expected to go smoothly, White House Spokesman Jay Carney said at a March 19 press briefing.
Obama budget proposal to fund BRAIN Initiative through DARPA, NIH, NSF
As he announced the initiative, Obama said it could be "the next great American project" and could lead to improved understanding of Alzheimer's disease, autism, and strokes, in addition to other unforeseeable discoveries. "There's this enormous mystery waiting to be unlocked," he said.
Linking ZIP codes and geocodes could facilitate more efficient mail delivery, report says
The ZIP code, implemented in 1963, was originally intended to allow mail sorting methods to be automated but ended up being used in other ways as well. The ZIP code became a social tool for organizing and displaying demographic information and a support structure for entire industries such as insurance and real estate, the report says.
EPA and DOE overlapping in some energy efficiency testing, report says
GAO identified duplication in some testing activities undertaken to verify that products meet the criteria for carrying the EPA Energy Star label. EPA and DOE each manage separate verification testing programs and the GAO found 11 instances in which identical models had been tested twice in the same year. That's about one percent of the products tested by the EPA and DOE overall, the report says.
Facts struggle to be heard in Congress
Furloughed feds not exempt from outside-employment rules
In an advisory in March, the Office of Government Ethics noted that agency employees must continue to comply with criminal conflict-of-interest laws, including one that prohibits compensation for one's official duties from someone other than the U.S. government. The OGE also referred to Office of Personnel Management guidance from January, which said rules that govern executive-branch ethical standards will continue to apply to furloughed federal employees.
