Lawmakers seek to revise pay, benefits for some federal employees under shutdown

As Congress still appears far from reaching a spending agreement to end the partial government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are expecting to miss their first full paychecks this Friday. Many excepted and furloughed federal employees received partial paychecks around Oct. 10, for the pay period that ended Oct. 4 — although they were only paid for workdays through Sept. 30. But while the shutdown drags on, some members of Congress are looking at other options to try to secure pay and benefits for certain employees impacted by…

Read More...

While things aren’t as busy, contractors can take this time to get out there for some face time

With Congress passing a very short term continuing resolution to keep the government running, there just isn’t going to be that much new business right now. So what can companies do to make sure they get a good start to fiscal year 2025? To help with that answer, Larry Allen of Allen Federal Business Partners joined  the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Interview transcript: Eric White Absolutely. So as fiscal year 2025 gets underway, what are some of the things that contractors need to take inventory of and have a…

Read More...

Why some CIOs say it’s time to rethink governmentwide cyber metrics

One of the biggest complaints about the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard is how it measures cybersecurity progress. The challenge is there are too many cyber metrics so a “C” grade on the scorecard doesn’t necessarily translate into progress made against other governmentwide metrics say under the President’s Management Agenda. Andre Mendes, the chief information officer at the Department of Commerce, was one of several technology leaders who explained to Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and the Government Accountability Office why they believe a re-calibration of cyber metrics is important…

Read More...

Some agency leaders telling employees to prepare for a government shutdown

Even though Senate lawmakers are on the cusp of passing a bi-partisan continuing resolution to keep the government open to Nov. 17, agencies are telling their employees to prepare for a shutdown. The departments of Commerce and Homeland Security are among the agencies sending emails to employees today. “Prudent management requires the proper preparation for all contingencies, including the possibility that a lapse could occur. A lapse would mean that certain government activities would cease due to a lack of appropriated funding,” wrote Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in an email…

Read More...

GOP resurrects effort to make some feds at-will employees, thus easier to fire

Republicans have renewed their push to try to make it easier for agencies to fire federal employees. GOP lawmakers in both the House and Senate reintroduced a bill to make feds at-will workers. Proponents of the Public Service Reform Act said it would make it easier to remove poor performers, and create more accountability and efficiency. It is an idea that former President Trump originally touted through a now-revoked executive order that created the Schedule F position classification. Republicans’ new bill would also abolish the Merit Systems Protection Board. Democrat…

Read More...