Rep. Elijah Cummings, who is expected to become the next chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has vowed to “shine a light on waste, fraud and abuse” in the current administration, Federal News Network reported Wednesday. Cummings, in a statement issued following his reelection as representative of Maryland’s 7th district, expressed his intention to “probe senior administration officials across the government who have abused their positions of power and wasted taxpayer money.”
Read More »Former Raytheon VP Mark Esper Officially Takes Oath as 23rd Army Secretary
Mark Esper, formerly Raytheon vice president for government relations, has officially been sworn in as the 23rd secretary of the U.S. Army. He said in a letter addressed to the Army community that his top priorities as the service branch’s top civilian official are readiness, modernization and reform, the Association of the United …
Read More »Lexington Institute’s Daniel Goure: DoD Model to Support Rex Tillerson’s State Dept Reform Efforts
Daniel Goure, a vice president at the think tank Lexington Institute, has called on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to view the Defense Department as a model in his efforts to reform the State Department. Goure wrote in a commentary posted Thursday on Defense News that Tillerson should consider a reorientation or possible culture change …
Read More »USAID Issues $1B Loan Guarantee to Support Economic, Governance Reform in Ukraine
The U.S. Agency for International Development has issued a $1 billion loan guarantee to Ukraine in support of economic and governance reforms as the country undergoes a democratic transition. USAID said Friday the guarantee aims to help Ukraine implement reforms in an effort to fight corruption, aid economic governance and resilience and secure citizens from …
Read More »Gen. Paul Selva: Innovation Ideas Exist Across DoD, Military
U.S. Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the ideas of reform and innovation has spread in the military, DoD News reported Thursday. Jim Garamone writes Selva discussed the Defense Department‘s “state of innovation” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Thursday to collect ideas and knowledge from younger …
Read More »USAID, Ukraine Government Work Together on Energy and Judicial Reform Programs
The U.S. Agency for International Development has worked with Ukraine’s government to create several new programs designed to promote judicial reform and energy sector improvements in Ukraine. Vice President Joe Biden announced that the programs are part of the $220 million U.S. government’s foreign assistance initiative to Ukraine, USAID said Wednesday. The agency stated that …
Read More »Pentagon Eyes ‘Combatant Command’ Designation for Cybercom
Top Defense Department officials are considering a proposal that would allow the U.S. Cyber Command to function as a unified combatant command as the military increases its use of cyberspace as a warfighting domain, Military Times reported Tuesday. Andrew Tilghman writes Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will make the final decision on whether to elevate the …
Read More »Bill Evanina Updates House Panel on ODNI’s Security Clearance Reform Efforts
Bill Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, has provided lawmakers an update on the efforts of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s NCSC to introduce reforms to the security clearance investigation process. Evanina said in written testimony Thursday before the House Oversight Committee that NCSC has partnered with …
Read More »OMB’s Jamal Brown: White House to Form New Employee Background Investigation Bureau
The White House has announced it will create a new government organization to perform background checks on federal employees and contractors as part of its push to reform the security clearance and investigation process. Jamal Brown, press secretary for the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a White House blog …
Read More »Report: DoD Eyes Reclassification of Department’s Civilian Workforce
The Defense Department wants to shift its non-bargaining civilian employees that fall under Title 5 authorities of the U.S. Code to a military-oriented personnel management system under Title 10, GovExec reported Tuesday. Charles Clark writes a draft DoD workforce reform plan, obtained by GovExec, aims to give the U.S. defense …
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