Congress | Voter.org

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

March 7, 2022 Weird, Congress, Time, It's, Europe, “Going0 comment

Besides the omnibus budget package, Congress is dealing with a few other issues this week, like postal reform. But it’s a short week, as the <a href=”https://federalnewsnetwork.com/category/temin/tom-temin-federal-drive/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Federal Drive</a> with Tom Temin learned from Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. <blockquote>Tom Temin: Loren, the omnibus packages that are coming forth to be voted on sometime during this week, presumably to get to the President’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…

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

March 3, 2022 blocking, mandate, Vaccine, admin’s, Senate, Biden, workers, health, care, Passes, Resolution0 comment

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. <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…

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

February 23, 2022 annual, triple, amount, Congress, Reports, sends, Years, Nearly0 comment

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>. 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/”>Federal Drive with Tom Temin</a> turned to the director of defense capabilities and management issues at the Government…

Returning to the office will not solve the backlogs lawmakers are worried about

February 19, 2022 solve, Office, worried, Returning, backlogs, about, Lawmakers0 comment

Republicans having been trying to coerce agencies to bring employees back to the office for the better part of the last year. Each of the previous bills, like Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s (R-Texas) and Sen. Roger Marshall’s (R-Kan.) bills from August that would have required agencies to return to the telework policies of Feb. 14, 2020, or the most recent one from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) that would require agencies to reinstate their telework policies used before the COVID-19 pandemic as of Dec. 19, 2019, never moved from the starting line.…

IRS walks away from facial recognition to access online tools after backlash

February 7, 2022 Online, away, backlash, recognition, tools, walks, facial, after, Access, from0 comment

The IRS will transition away from using facial recognition technology to help taxpayers create online accounts with the agency. The IRS announced Monday that it will “quickly develop and bring online an additional authentication process that does not involve facial recognition,” in order for taxpayers to access self-help services on the agency’s website. “The IRS will also continue to work with its cross-government partners to develop authentication methods that protect taxpayer data and ensure broad access to online tools,” the agency said in a statement. The IRS changed course after…

Your agency after COVID: What’s next for you?

February 3, 2022 after, Next, Agency, What's, Covid0 comment

Once the war against COVID (with 900,000 plus U.S. casualties) is declared to be over, long-time feds know what’s next: The media will be there of course, second-guessing decisions which, at the time, seemed like the right (or only) thing to do. But first steps will be taken by Washington-based politicians with jurisdictions over the various federal departments, agencies and bureaus involved in the pandemic fight. Those conducting the investigations/witchhunts (choose one) will either be savvy long-time pols who survived the mid-terms or newcomers anxious to make their political bones.…