Topic:
Management & Governance
Latest Headlines
Latest Headlines
BRAC cost analysis model doesn't allow for inestimable costs, GAO report finds
The Defense Department understimates the costs of base closures, because outsourced work isn't accounted for in the department's reporting process, an April 18 Government Accountability Office report (.pdf) says.With the military likely to shrink in size in the coming post-drawdown years, Pentagon officials have said they want a new round of Base Realignment and Closure.
Agencies don't report cross-agency GPRA goals, but OMB doesn't explicitly require them, GAO report says
Agencies don't report how they work together to achieve shared goals, or goals that could use resources from other agencies, as required by the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act, because Office of Management and Budget rules for reporting don't make that requirement clear, an April 19 Government Accountability Office report (.pdf) says.
Fed crackdown legal marijuana states could create larger black market
If the federal government cracks down on state marijuana laws, it could create an unregulated market that states can't contain, according to Brookings Fellow Stuart Taylor at a Brookings talk .The federal government should declare a safe harbor in states that have legalized marijuana. Washington and Colorado both have legal, but regulated marijuana and 14 other states legalized medical marijuana.
Federal government favorable rating drops to 28 percent, according to a Pew poll
Only 28 percent of Americans view the federal government favorably, according to an April 15 Pew Research Center poll (.pdf). In addtion, for the first time since Obama became president, more Democrats say they have an unfavorable view of the federal government in Washington than a favorable view, Pew data shows.
Post Office backs off from cutting Saturday mail delivery
The United States Postal Service backed down from its fight for a modified 5 day delivery schedule that would eliminate Saturday delivery, according to a statement from the USPS Board of Govenors statement . "Absent specific legislative language, a continuing resolution maintains the status quo regarding government funding and operations," the statement says.
White sworn in as SEC head, Obama nominates three NLRB members
White was approved by a Senate voice vote and will replace Elisse Walter, who has been interim SEC chairman since Mary Schapiro resigned in December 2012. White had previously served as U.S. attorney in Manhattan from 1993 through 2002. She is the only woman to hold that position in the 200-year-plus history of the office, the SEC statement said.
Management side of OMB is critical, nominee says in confirmation hearing
President Obama's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget stressed the need to reduce the deficit and increase efficiency during her April 9 confirmation hearing with the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.Sylvia Mathew Burwell, who currently heads up the Walmart Foundation and was previously president of Global Development Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, garnered promises of support from Senators of both sides of the aisle.
The first National Water Census in 35 years is underway
As part of the National Water Census, the first comprehensive look at national water availability since 1978, the U.S. Geological Survey has so far undertaken studies of three large river basins, the agency says in an April 3 report. Ultimately, the Water Census, which Congress called for in a 2009 law, will compile information about water availability in a way that states and other water managers can put to use.
Retirement claims in March double what OPM expected, data shows
Twice as many federal employees filed for retirement in March as the Office of Personnel projected, according to an OPM report (.pdf).According to statistics, OPM received 10,183 retirement claims but had projected only 5,000 new claims for that month. There was a similar trend in February. OPM received about 20,000 retirement claims in February, more than three times the amount it projected.
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 ).
