Agencies | Voter.org

New rules take effect for agencies buying from AbilityOne contractors

March 28, 2024 Contractors, AbilityOne, from, Take, Buying, rules, effect, Agencies0 comment

New rules have taken effect for procurement from AbilityOne contractors. Those are the companies, mostly non-profits, whose employees have disabilities. The rules were ordered by Congress back in 2017 and they bring more competition to the program. For details, The Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with the Executive Director of the AbilityOne Commission, Kim Zeich. Interview Transcript: Kim Zeich The AbilityOne program provides employment opportunities to individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities through the Federal Acquisition System. Historically, the AbilityOne program has been an exception to competition…

Better data protests could benefit, agencies, vendors alike

December 7, 2023 Protests, Alike, vendors, could, Better, data, Agencies, benefit0 comment

When it comes to data on bid protests, the data is lacking to say the least. Beyond the annual bid protest report to Congress from the Government Accountability Office, agencies track few other outcomes from protests. David Drabkin, a fellow at the Stevens Institute of Technology Acquisition Innovation Research Center and a former senior procurement executive for the General Services Administration, said by not collecting and understanding this data, agencies are missing a host of opportunities to improve the acquisition process, the contracting workforce and industry response to solicitations. Dave…

‘Telework is not one-size-fits-all’: Agencies defend hybrid work for feds in front of House lawmakers

December 3, 2023 defend, Feds, hybrid, telework, onesizefitsall’, House, Lawmakers, work, front, Agencies0 comment

Agency leaders are still adjusting their return-to-office plans after the Biden administration called for an increase to “meaningful” in-person work and cuts to telework for the federal workforce. The administration, in large part, has emphasized the importance of using data to measure productivity, engagement and other factors that telework affects, according to the initial return-to-office memo from the Office of Management and Budget in April. But left unsatisfied with the telework data available from agencies, lawmakers on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee pressed harder on a handful of federal…

Are budget cuts the best way to fix troubled agencies?

July 28, 2023 budget, Best, cuts, Agencies, Troubled0 comment

Washington’s ticker tape of controversy has wrapped around several agencies and departments. Republicans in Congress would fix things by cutting their budgets. But is that the best way to cause reform? Not according to the guest of Federal Drive with Tom Temin, former American University Professor Bob Tobias. Interview Transcripts: Tom Temin And Bob, you’re concerned about what seems to be happening around two agencies, in particular, the IRS and the Office of Personnel Management. The IRS is having its tintinnabulation on Capitol Hill these days. But let’s talk about…

Two GOP lawmakers look to defund armed regulatory officers at certain federal agencies

July 8, 2023 look, Lawmakers, federal, 'armed, Agencies, defund, certain, Officers, Regulatory0 comment

Is that recording of your agency’s latest Zoom meeting a federal record? The National Archives said it probably is in many cases. A draft bulletin released by the National Archives and Records Administration this week said agencies must incorporate records management practices into their use of collaboration platforms. The use of those tools, like Zoom, Webex, Slack and Discord, has become a fixture in government over the last few years. The draft NARA bulletin said agencies should work with platform providers to ensure records can be exported with required metadata.…

Dissatisfied with OPM’s data, Republicans ask individual agencies for telework details

May 25, 2023 Republicans, details, data, Agencies, dissatisfied', Individual, OPM’s, telework0 comment

With many agencies’ return-to-office plans still uncertain, Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee want to take matters into their own hands. GOP committee leaders changed their strategy for trying to get more federal telework data, now reaching out directly to agency heads. In a series of 25 letters, the lawmakers asked for up-to-date numbers of teleworking federal employees, after saying the Biden administration was “not adequately tracking the specific levels of telework.” The Biden administration “has not provided current data about the specific amount of telework occurring within…