Oversight

FDIC's chairman faces bipartisan criticism following a report about the agency’s toxic culture

Many House Financial Services Committee Democrats expressed doubt about FDIC Chairman Gruenberg’s ability to make workplace culture changes across the agency.

Oversight

An inspector general warned the Justice Department of gaps in its security clearance appeals process

The department and its component agencies have failed to implement a provision of the 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act guaranteeing federal employees of the right to appeal lengthy security clearance suspensions.

Oversight

Committee member behind independent report on FDIC harassment says recommendations don’t go far enough

Despite a 2023 expose into systemic sexual harassment allegations within the agency, one official said accusations of troubling behavior continue to permeate the regulator. 

Oversight

GSA failing to monitor building maintenance contracts, watchdog says

A new report from the GSA inspector general found that contractors did not complete a majority of maintenance work orders sampled in six federal buildings.

Oversight

Biden to replace embattled acting Commerce IG

Jill Baisinger, current chief of staff in the Interior Department’s Office of the Inspector General, will take over for Roderick Anderson at the end of May.

Oversight

New bill would establish an IG for the Supreme Court 

The Judicial Ethics Enforcement Act calls for a new inspector general’s office to investigate alleged misconduct and prevent waste, fraud and abuse across the judicial branch.

Oversight

Senate rejects impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Mayorkas

In a 51-49 vote along party lines, Senate Democrats dismissed impeachment charges Wednesday against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for not meeting the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Oversight

When -- and how often -- are SBA staffers going into the office? A senator wants the agency's IG to find out

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, continued her criticism of federal agencies’ use of telework, calling for the Small Business Administration’s inspector general to investigate its office utilization rates after its administrator disputed the GAO’s findings. 

Oversight

HHS removed Login from its grantee payment system after funding theft

Hackers used data from a federal contracting hub to steal funding from seven grantee organizations in an HHS breach that occurred last year. Both HHS and GSA say that Login.gov was not compromised or connected to the theft.

Oversight

Russian hackers accessed federal agencies' emails in Microsoft breach, CISA says

The alert comes a week after Microsoft was faulted in a Homeland Security Department report for fostering a security culture that enabled a similar China-backed cyberattack last year.

Oversight

VA claims appeal board errors are the target of a new House bill

The Veterans Claims Quality Improvement Act seeks to mitigate errors made by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals with new training, performance evaluations and required reports to Congress. 

Oversight

Contentious FBI headquarters plan looms over House hearing on real estate footprint

The House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management sought to examine the FBI’s strategy for managing its overall office space requirements, but the ongoing controversy over its potential new headquarters again took center stage. 

Oversight

5 agencies join Justice in pledge to protect civil rights against AI-fueled discrimination

The agencies pledged to use their existing enforcement authorities to tackle cases where artificial intelligence may impact Americans’ civil rights.

Oversight

10 doctors on an FDA panel reviewing Abbott heart device had financial ties with the company

Some familiar with the process said the payments should have been disclosed in the interest of transparency.

Oversight

Citizen oversight panels could make the federal rulemaking process more open and democratic

Juries render decisions on complex legal questions and could do the same as part of the regulatory process.

Oversight

Lawmakers propose extending pandemic analytics center beyond 2025 sunset

Oversight officials say that the Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence needs to survive past the looming sunset date, unlike a similar analytics center used to oversee stimulus spending that shuttered in 2015.

Oversight

Why plugging leaks sometimes means protecting leakers

COMMENTARY | Congress needs to establish a form of amnesty that, where appropriate, provides an exit ramp for individuals who have unwittingly violated the terms of a security clearance and wish to come clean.

Oversight

Bill would axe classified access for feds charged with a crime

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., appears tailored to allegations of Donald Trump's retention of classified documents, but would remove almost any federal employee’s access if they were charged with specific offenses.  

Oversight

MSPB political firing case raises new questions on Schedule F

The Housing and Urban Development Department’s 2017 firing of a probationary employee over alleged leaks was politically motivated, the agency tasked with enforcing civil service laws said last week.