Management

FDIC chairman resigns following toxic workplace allegations

Martin Gruenberg said in a brief statement that he will remain at the agency until a successor is confirmed by the Senate, following calls from lawmakers for him to resign due to systemic harassment claims at the regulator. 

News

Legislation weighing contractors' national security risk heads to Senate floor

One bill would bar federal agencies from contracting with entities that consult with the Chinese government.

Defense

Kill the zombie Space National Guard idea

COMMENTARY | Guardsmen in space-related jobs belong in the Space Force.

Management

Congress is already clashing on FY25 funding as House proposes big cuts

Republicans are looking to ignore a deal Biden struck with them last year, while Democrats are seeking increases for federal agencies.

Workforce

TSA and AFGE ink their first contract under expanded collective bargaining rules

After two decades of abridged or no collective bargaining rights, frontline Transportation Security Administration finally enjoy similar rights to their colleagues elsewhere in government.

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.

Workforce

As one telework reform measure advances, another is delayed

A measure that would codify remote work in the U.S. Code and improve telework data reporting advanced by a 9-2 margin in Senate committee, but consideration of another bill aimed at improving telework data was postponed.

Workforce

House Dems ask agencies about their progress offering telework to military spouses

The fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act requires federal agencies to offer remote work options to employees whose spouses are deployed overseas.

Tech

House bill targets AI-generated comments in rulemaking

The legislation looks to provide assurance that public comments on pending regulations come from real people.

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. 

Workforce

Senators’ latest telework legislation could imperil remote work

A new bill from Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., would cap all telework at 40% of an employee’s work hours, potentially endangering the federal government’s nascent remote work program.

News

‘It’s up to Mike Johnson’: Marjorie Taylor Greene again stalls vote on ousting the House speaker

Any vote to remove Johnson is likely to fail, since House Democratic leaders announced last month they would support keeping him as speaker.

Pay & Benefits

A CBO report raises new questions about Biden’s 2% pay raise plan

Analysis favored by conservatives shows that when comparing workers’ “total compensation,” the private sector has nearly caught up to the federal government’s pay and benefits package for employees.

Defense

If a national security agency head becomes medically incapacitated, a House-passed bill would require notifications

The measure is a legislative response to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin not telling the White House that he was hospitalized earlier this year.

Tech

With only three weeks to go, lawmakers weigh ways to save federal internet subsidy

Congress is exploring several options to fund it. All face long odds of success despite widespread and bipartisan support for the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Tech

Federal broadband subsidy cut amid fears over its future

The Affordable Connectivity Program will pay some households just $14 in May, down from $30. Unless Congress acts on a $7 billion extension bill, it will run out of money at the end of the month, plunging some families, supporters warn, into “digital darkness.”

Workforce

OMB leader defends administration’s approach to telework

House Republicans continued to demand better data from the Biden administration regarding the prevalence and effectiveness of telework at federal agencies.

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.

Pay & Benefits

Congressional Dems urge OPM to fully cover IVF in feds’ insurance program

More than 175 Democratic lawmakers said the federal government must do more to protect access to health services like in-vitro fertilization in light of a recent Alabama court ruling that effectively banned the procedure alongside abortion services.

Workforce

New bill would create federal grant program for digital upskilling

The proposed Digital Skills for Today’s Workforce Act would add digital skills training to grant programs that provide education and professional development services in an effort to boost the talent pipeline.