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Former senior officials join rising calls for an alternative to Schedule F

June 8, 2024 Alternative, officials, Senior, schedule, Former, calls, Rising, join0 comment

A group of former senior officials is making a new and near last-ditch call to action aiming to prevent the possible resurrection of the controversial Schedule F executive order from the Trump administration. The five former national security officials, who sent a letter to congressional committee leaders Thursday, are approaching the years-long Schedule F debate with what has been a steadily growing angle: They proposed a middle-ground answer to the question of federal workforce accountability. Along with warning of what they said would be a dangerous return of Schedule F,…

Congress looks to require military drone corps, which Army leaders oppose

June 4, 2024 military, drone, Require, Corps, Army, Congress, oppose, looks, leaders0 comment

The House Armed Services Committee’s draft defense policy bill would require the Army to establish a separate drone branch, but Army leaders continue to push against the idea. A provision in the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the defense bill would require the Army to establish a drone corps as a basic branch of the service. Gen. James Rainey, who leads the Army Futures Command, said it is too early for setting up a separate drone branch. One of the main priorities for the service right now is to…

Lawmakers want answers about Pentagon’s increasing reliance on Microsoft

May 31, 2024 Lawmakers, Microsoft, Reliance, Answers, increasing, Pentagon's, about, want0 comment

Members of Congress sent a letter to the Pentagon on Wednesday asking about the department’s push to begin implementation of Microsoft’s most expensive licenses, known as E5, across all components starting next month. The Pentagon is considering mandating all department offices to implement the full suite of Microsoft 365 E5 licenses across their Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) within the next 12 months as part of its effort to achieve the target level of zero trust by 2027, according to a draft memo first obtained by Axios. In a…

Looking ahead to the no-surprise, likely-late 2025 federal spending bills

May 27, 2024 spending, ahead, federal, bills, looking, 2025, nosurprise, likelylate0 comment

It is budget season on Capitol Hill and agency leaders are busy defending their 2025 spending plans in front of the appropriations committees. And it’s possible the House could finish its appropriations bills this summer. But it’s still very unlikely we’ll have a full budget passed before the end of the fiscal year. For more on where things stand, Federal News Network’s Deputy Editor Jared Serbu spoke with longtime budget watcher Larry Allen on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin . He’s president of Allen Federal Business Partners. Interview Transcript: Larry…

OPM defends rule to hamper Schedule F’s return, backs telework amid return to office push

May 23, 2024 defends, backs, Office, 'Return, hamper, rule, schedule, telework, F’s, Amid, Push0 comment

The Office of Personnel Management is defending a recently finalized rule meant to prevent the return of Schedule F — a Trump-era policy that made it easier to fire career federal employees in policymaking positions. OPM’s acting director told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that the re-emergence of such a policy would undermine civil service protections, and return the federal workforce to a 19th-century “spoils system” with major turnover. Acting OPM Director Rob Shriver told lawmakers on Wednesday that the return of Schedule F would have a “chilling effect”…

Spanberger demands VA clean up its act when awarding financial incentives

May 19, 2024 Financial, Demands, 'clean', incentives, awarding, Spanberger0 comment

The Department of Veterans Affairs paid out $ 11 million in bonuses to career executives not eligible to receive them. Now a bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking answers. House lawmakers are asking VA how long it will take to claw back those bonuses and what steps it will take to hold department leaders accountable. The lawmakers also want to know what steps VA will take to ensure future financial incentives are awarded responsibly. (Spanberger demands answers, accountability from VA over nearly $ 11 million misspent on executive bonuses –…