Management
Lack of timeframes and follow-ups led Social Security to delay some priority disability applications
An inspector general’s audit found that while the agency identified and processed 96% of the priority cases reviewed, a slice of applications slipped past monitoring, leading to longer wait times.
Tech
Benefits.gov to shutter in September
The Labor Department’s benefits-focused website dates back to 2002.
Oversight
IRS program to assist poor taxpayers rarely picks up the phone
TIGTA investigators were unable to leave a message at 16 local Taxpayer Advocate Service offices because their voicemail boxes were full.
Management
Lawmakers press VA to report on the delays in its burn pit registry revamp
An October 2022 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said VA should “initiate a new phase” of its Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry to make it “a user-friendly, efficient and effective resource.”
Tech
Education Department official says they are making fixes on the FAFSA at a 'rapid pace'
Though users faced glitches and technical errors after the Jan. 8 official debut for the 2024-25 federal student aid form, Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal cites progress and says they will "continue to try and make this process easier and faster for all students."
Tech
House panel advances bill to study TSA’s embrace of digital IDs
Travelers from nine states can now use mobile driver’s licenses to verify their identities at 27 U.S. airports.
Exclusive
Workforce
Martin O’Malley is on a one-year sprint to save Social Security
Despite shaking up the culture one of Washington’s most risk-averse agencies, the former governor said his biggest task is convincing Congress to reinvest in the Social Security Administration’s administrative overhead.
Tech
DOJ launches a CX-focused initiative
The first project in the new push is focusing on improving the portals Americans use to report crimes to the Justice Department.
Tech
Agencies are on the clock to improve their digital accessibility — here’s how they’re doing so far
Guidance issued last fall set standards and benchmarks for agencies to improve their many public-facing websites.
Management
Inside the Department of Labor’s collaboration with New Jersey to overhaul unemployment programs
A new application for unemployment claims in the Garden State marks the result of a years-long federal effort to help states modernize their jobless aid efforts.
Management
House takes a bipartisan vote to hold agencies accountable for better customer service
The measure would make improvements to an "unaccountable, antiquated and Byzantine" federal bureaucracy.
Tech
House passes GSA transparency bill to track tech projects
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said he introduced the bill to respond to the agency's misrepresentations about the capabilities of the government-run digital identity service Login.gov.
Tech
SSA launches a public data hub for customer service goals
The new online portal offers a look at how the agency is doing, as its new commissioner passes his 100-day mark on the job.
Tech
States get streamlined access to Treasury’s Do Not Pay system for unemployment
The move comes as federal agencies have worked with states to combat the rise in jobless aid fraud following the pandemic.
Tech
Education secretary pledges troubled online student aid tool will be ready for next fall
The online Free Application for Federal Student Aid tool had a rocky release, with bad data and uptime problems, but the Department of Education is looking for improvements next year.
Tech
Feds move to make gov websites more accessible to people with disabilities
It’s the first time the federal government has ever issued rules clarifying how the more than 30-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act applies online. But the new rules come with a hefty price tag for state and local governments.
Tech
100,000 have used IRS Direct File to submit their tax returns
The agency has not yet determined whether the pilot program for the tool will be extended into a permanent offering.
Management
The Labor Department wants Congress to help to fix unemployment insurance tech and delivery
Among the asks: fund the program adequately, the Labor Department says.
Management
OMB overhauls federal grant guidance to simplify it for recipients
The Biden administration offered new updates to the Uniform Guidance that governs federal grant programs, aiming to slice red tape and simplify the language recipients use to apply for funding.
Management