Oversight
GovExec Daily: Reevaluating the Hatch Act
Citizen for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's Donald K. Sherman joins the podcast to discuss the complexities surrounding the rule in the Trump era.
Oversight
Lawmakers Ask Watchdog to Review New Coronavirus Data Reporting System Housed Within HHS
“We are concerned that these reporting changes undermine the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts,” wrote top House Energy and Commerce Committee members.
Oversight
Meatpacking Companies Dismissed Years of Warnings but Now Say Nobody Could Have Prepared for COVID-19
In documents dating to 2006, government officials predicted that a pandemic would threaten critical businesses and warned them to prepare. Meatpacking companies largely ignored them, and now nearly every one of the predictions has come true.
Oversight
GovExec Daily: What Explains the Postal Service Delays and Changes?
Eric Katz joins the podcast to discuss the recent changes to USPS.
Oversight
Former USPS Leader from Texas Says Postmaster General Louis Dejoy is 'Destroying Confidence' in the Postal Service
Carolyn Lewis, a former USPS Board of Governors chair, said she has been disturbed by reports of cost-cutting measures and concerns that the mail service will not be able to handle an influx of mailed-in ballots.
Oversight
Watchdog: OSHA Had Trouble Processing Whistleblower Complaints Efficiently Even Before Coronavirus Hit
During the first four months of the pandemic the agency received 30% more complaints than during the same period in 2019.
Oversight
Burial Site Found on a Property Tied to Obama, Causing Tension With Native Hawaiians
After Native Hawaiian remains were found on the multimillion-dollar oceanfront lot being developed by the chair of the Obama Foundation, a state official decided to relocate the remains. Kamuela Kala‘i is speaking up for her ancestors.
Oversight
Analysis: Amid Partisan Fight Over Postal Service’s Future, Its Past Reveals a Common Bond that Helped Stamp an Identity on America
The United States Postal Service plays a vital role in US civic life, one that helped shape American society more than 250 years ago and continues to characterize it today.
Tech
GovExec Daily: Using Tech to Weed Out Financial Fraud
Dr. Gary Shiffman joins the podcast to discuss how to identify those trying to scam the government out of stimulus programs like the PPP.
Oversight
OSC Outlines Hatch Act Compliance Requirements for Convention Speech at White House
“If something falls into a gray zone, I recommend people seek OSC's Hatch Act advice before assuming something is either okay or a violation,” said a former OSC official.
Oversight
Stereotypes in Language May Shape Bias Against Women in STEM
Researchers found the language we speak strongly predicts implicit gender associations.
Oversight
House Lawmakers Demand Info on Viewpoint Survey Delay
Last month, the Office of Personnel Management announced that it would delay administration of the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey just four days before it was slated to commence.
Oversight
It’s Illegal for Federal Officials to Campaign on the Job. Trump Staffers Keep Doing It Anyway.
Trump administration officials have been cited 13 times for violating the Hatch Act, a New Deal-era law prohibiting government officials from engaging in campaigning.
Oversight
Experts: Better COVID-19 Testing is Still Vital to ‘Reopening’
There' no pandemic "silver bullet" but COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, masks, and vaccine development are key to going back to school or the office.
Oversight
The White House Paid Up to $500 Million Too Much for These Ventilators, Congressional Investigators Say
A House panel says “gullible” White House negotiators overpaid for Phillips ventilators, and it has asked the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to investigate evidence of fraud in the deal.
Oversight
The Federal Government Gives Native Students an Inadequate Education, and Gets Away With It
The Bureau of Indian Education has repeatedly neglected warnings that it is not providing a quality education for 46,000 Native students. Once called a “stain on our Nation’s history,” the school system has let down its students for generations.
Oversight
Inspector General Blasts Efforts to Transfer OPM Facility Authority to GSA
The Office of Personnel Management watchdog said the Trump administration took action without regard to the impact, potentially incurring millions of dollars in recurring annual costs.
Oversight
Lawmakers Look to Further Strengthen Whistleblower Protections
Bills in the House and Senate would ban federal officials from blocking employees from sharing information with Congress, prohibit retaliatory investigations and protect more workers.
Oversight
After a Year of Investigation, the Border Patrol Has Little to Say About Agents’ Misogynistic and Racist Facebook Group
The Border Patrol vowed a full accounting after ProPublica revealed hateful posts in the private Facebook group. Now congressional investigators say the agency is blocking them and revealing little about its internal investigation.
Oversight