Customs and Border Protection will partner with the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General to investigate corruption within CBP, the agency announced Friday. CBP will immediately start sending internal affairs agents to OIG field offices. The CBP agents will participate in new and ongoing investigations of alleged corruption and other serious misconduct involving CBP personnel. [...]
A freeze on new federal websites will continue through the remainder of this calendar year, said a memo on behalf of new federal chief information officer Steven VanRoekel. The freeze is part of a White House effort to streamline the federal government’s online services and maintain efficiency. The White House established a task force in [...]
Equal pay laws for federal employees will be rigorously enforced, says an Aug. 18 letter from both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Personnel Management. A 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office found the gender wage gap for federal employees declined from 28 cents on the dollar in 1987 to 11 [...]
The Treasury Department will lend more than $360 million to support small businesses in 11 states and Washington, D.C., it was announced Tuesday. The Treasury said it approved applications for funds from the State Small Business Credit Initiative, supporting small-business lending programs at the state level. The SSBCI was created out of the Small Business [...]
The Departments of Agriculture, Energy and the Navy have entered a three-year partnership with the private sector to spur production of biofuels, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday. The departments will invest up to $510 million to help produce drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power both military and commercial transportation. The biofuels can be used [...]
Vivek Kundra’s last day as federal chief information officer was Friday. He will serve a joint fellowship this fall at Harvard University. Kundra posted a 12-page paper on Harvard’s website Monday, covering his nearly 10-year career working in local, state and federal governments. Prior to joining the White House, Kundra served two years as chief [...]
Congress must look beyond cutting the Defense Department’s budget in trying to attain fiscal responsibility, Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday. Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with students at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. Frank Sesno, former CNN correspondent, moderated the discussion. Both the Defense and State Departments face [...]
The agency responsible for protecting deposits in U.S. banks has weak information security controls, threatening the security of financial data, a Government Accountability Office report says. The report, published Aug. 12, examined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s controls designed to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of its financial systems and information. GAO found the [...]
The Federal Aviation Administration’s acquisition workforce plans do not address gaps in hiring and developing an effective acquisition workforce, according to an internal audit. The Office of the Inspector General issued its final report Aug. 3, examining the FAA’s acquisition workforce plans. The agency’s current plans are projected for needs through fiscal year 2014. The [...]
The Commerce Department is offering buyouts and early retirement to employees in several agencies within the department. Government Executive reports Scott Quehl, chief financial officer and assistant secretary for administration, notified Commerce employees in eight agencies of the offers in an e-mail Thursday. The department’s authority to offer buyouts and early retirements is in effect [...]