Category: Congress

IRS plans to hire staff to tackle backlog faster, but struggles on competitive pay

backlog, hire, struggles, tackle, plans, staff, faster, Competitive0 comment

The IRS expects new hiring authority will allow it to bring new employees onboard within 40 to 45 days, rather than several months, to deal with a major backlog of tax returns and correspondence. The agency received direct hire authority from Congress in the fiscal 2022 spending bill that President Joe Biden signed into law this week. That spending bill also gave the IRS its highest budget in decades. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said this hiring flexibility, combined with the agency receiving a lighter paper-based workload this filing season, puts…

Read More...

Five key provisions in the just-signed 2022 intelligence authorization bill

2022, Authorization, justsigned, Five, intelligence, Bill, provisions0 comment

The 2022 Intelligence Authorization Act hitched a ride on the $ 1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday. The bill authorizes funding for intelligence agencies, provides new legal authorities for priorities like emerging technologies, enacts new restrictions in some cases and gives Congress some additional oversight measures. Here are some highlights from the 2022 bill: Progress wanted on Trusted Workforce 2.0 The legislation requires the director of national intelligence and the director of the Office of Personnel Management to publish a “policy with…

Read More...

Intelligence community whistleblowers finally get a little help, from Congress

Help, intelligence, Little, finally, Community, whistleblower's, Congress, from0 comment

<p><em>Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on </em><a href=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/federal-drive-with-tom-temin/id1270799277?mt=2″><i>Apple Podcasts</i></a><em> or <a href=”https://www.podcastone.com/federal-drive-with-tom-temin?pid=1753589″>PodcastOne</a>.</em></p> <p>Whistleblowers across the government have gotten increasingly more support and protection over the years. Except for those in the secretive intelligence community. They have no independent enforcement mechanisms for the protections they do have. Joining the <a href=”https://federalnewsnetwork.com/category/temin/tom-temin-federal-drive/”><em><strong>Federal Drive with Tom Temin</strong></em></a> with how things are about to change, the policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, Melissa Wasser.</p> <p><em>Interview transcript:</em></p> <blockquote><p><strong>Tom Temin:</strong> Ms. Wasser, good to have you on.</p>…

Read More...

It’s a weird time in Congress with a war going on in Europe

Congress, Time, It's, Europe, “Going, Weird0 comment

<p>Besides the omnibus budget package, Congress is dealing with a few other issues this week, like postal reform. But it&#8217;s a short week, as the <em><strong><a href=”https://federalnewsnetwork.com/category/temin/tom-temin-federal-drive/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Federal Drive</a> with Tom Temin</strong> </em>learned from Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan.</p> <blockquote><p><strong>Tom Temin: </strong>Loren, the omnibus packages that are coming forth to be voted on sometime during this week, presumably to get to the President&#8217;s desk, they have to finish those votes this week before they go on recess. So tell us what the schedule for that would look…

Read More...

Senate passes resolution blocking Biden admin’s vaccine mandate for health care workers

admin’s, Senate, Biden, workers, health, care, Passes, Resolution, blocking, mandate, Vaccine0 comment

<p><em>To listen to the Federal Newscast on your phone or mobile device, subscribe in <a href=”https://www.podcastone.com/federal-newstalk?showAllEpisodes=true”>PodcastOne</a> or <a href=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/federal-newscast/id1053077930?mt=2″>Apple Podcasts</a>. The best listening experience on desktop can be found using Chrome, Firefox or Safari.</em></p> <ul> <li>A board crucial to federal employees has a quorum, after a long period of vacancy. The Senate has confirmed two of three nominees for the Merit Systems Protection Board, which, among other things, hears appeals of adverse employment actions. The board has lacked a quorum for more than 1,800 days, about five years. Senators approved Ray Limon and…

Read More...

DoD sends Congress nearly triple the amount of annual reports it did 20 years ago

Congress, Reports, sends, Years, Nearly, annual, triple, amount0 comment

<p><em>Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on <a href=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/federal-drive-with-tom-temin/id1270799277?mt=2″>Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href=”https://www.podcastone.com/federal-drive-with-tom-temin?pid=1753589″>PodcastOne</a>.</em></p> <p>In 20 years, the number of annual reports the Defense Department must make to Congress has nearly tripled to more than 1,400. DoD officials have tried to get a handle on this task, which required untold thousands of man-hours. For what it could do to help streamline the process, the <a href=”https://federalnewsnetwork.com/category/temin/tom-temin-federal-drive/”><em><strong>Federal Drive with Tom Temin</strong></em></a> turned to the director of defense capabilities and management issues at the Government…

Read More...