Five federal workforce items on Congress’ to-do list

With the end of fiscal year 2022 approaching and a Sept. 30 deadline, Congress still has a lot on its plate to avoid a continuing resolution (CR), or potentially a government shutdown. Although some lawmakers have said a CR is already nearly inevitable, there are several key components on Congress’ to-do list when the House and Senate return from the August recess. Appropriations bills So far, the House passed six of its 12 spending bills for fiscal 2023 on July 20. Senate Democrats also released draft legislation for the 12…

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Woke Corporations Face Backlash From Conservative States

Conservative states have a warning for corporations that have “gone woke”: The consequences of political activism are no longer one-sided. This month, West Virginia declared it would no longer do business with five Wall Street banks over the companies’ anti-coal or anti-fossil fuel policies. “You have your right to be able to boycott the fossil fuel industry, but we’re not going to do business with you. We’re not going to pay for our own destruction,” State Treasurer Riley Moore said. “They’ve weaponized tax dollars against the very people and industries that…

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‘Stop the Steal’ Is a Metaphor

Starting in 2008, a widely circulated conspiracy theory was that Barack Obama was not actually born in America. Strivers on the political right scrounged around to try to produce a Kenyan birth certificate for him; they filed state and federal legal complaints alleging that Obama was not eligible to be president. But proof of this theory was never a requirement for subscribing to it; you could simply choose to believe that a Black liberal with a Muslim-sounding middle name was not one of us. And at several points during Obama’s…

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Senate committee calls on VA, DOJ to improve accessibility to federal technology

Senate lawmakers are pushing the departments of Justice and Veterans Affairs, along with all agencies, to improve the accessibility of their online services. The Senate Special Committee on Aging looked into the accessibility of federal technology, specifically for seniors and individuals with disabilities, as well as older and disabled veterans. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the committee’s chairman, said accessing digital services became a more prevalent concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, after accelerating a long-term shift in delivering government services through virtual, rather than physical, platforms. The acceleration of digital services…

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