Oversight

Lawmaker Urges Watchdogs to Review Special Immigrant Visa Process for Afghans

The process has been scrutinized in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover and U.S. withdrawal. 

Workforce

An ‘Urgent Request’ for Feds to Help with the Afghan Resettlement Process

The Mosaic Muslim Federal Employee Association is looking for native or fluent Dari and Pashto speakers. 

Management

U.S. Global Media Agency Vows to Help Locally Employed Staff Left in Afghanistan

Republican lawmaker says it is “disgraceful” that about 140 locally-employed media agency staff, plus their families, are still in the country after U.S. troops finished their withdrawal.

Management

Biden Taps FEMA Official to Lead Afghan Resettlement Efforts as Agency Deploys Thousands in Ida Response

Agencies are sending employees throughout the United States and around the world in a scramble to tackle multiple crises at once.

Management

Organizations Urge Expansion of Visa Program to Help Subcontractor and Subgrantee Employees Leave Afghanistan 

Currently such employees do not qualify for special visa programs, leaving them in a precarious situation as evacuation efforts grow more difficult. 

Workforce

GovExec Daily: Civilian Feds and the Afghanistan Evacuation

Eric Katz joins the podcast to discuss how civilian agencies are responding and processing Americans and Afghans leaving the country.

Management

Biden Administration Ramps Up Civilian Feds Responding to Afghanistan Withdrawal Efforts

Federal employees are calling U.S. citizens in Afghanistan and vetting Afghans as Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline nears.

Management

Industry Groups Work to Help an Unknown Number of Contractors Get Out of Afghanistan

“There’s still quite a few employees and their families over there that we want to get out,” said Howie Lind, president of the International Stability Operations Association.

Management

‘All the Signs Have Been There’ Predicting Afghan Security Force Collapse, IG Says

For more than a decade, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has been warning about “ghost soldiers” and corruption to anyone willing to pay attention.

Management

Administration Faces 'Massive Logistical Undertaking' in Afghanistan

Officials blame President Biden and his predecessors for failing to tackle foreseeable and longstanding problems with Afghan relocation program.

Management

'We’re Preparing for the Worst-Case Scenarios'

U.S. Agency for Global Media says it "will not back down" in Afghanistan despite the danger.

Management

Biden Administration Seeks Civilian Feds to Deploy in Helping Relocate Afghan Evacuees

Employee volunteers will go to both domestic and international sites as U.S. struggles to respond to chaotic scenes in Afghanistan.

Management

State Dept. Promises 'Surge' Staffing to Confront Unprecedented Passport Backlog and Wait Times

Passport specialist workforce has yet to catch up to pre-pandemic levels, which were already well short of full staffing.

Workforce

House Easily Passes Measure to Boost Hiring, Bonuses at State Department

Lawmakers say the "momentous" authorization bill, the first in 20 years, would "prevent the politicization and targeting and impunity" that have hurt morale at the department in recent years.

Pay & Benefits

House Panel Advances Measure to Boost Hiring, Bonuses at State Department

There is bipartisan support for the first State Department authorization bill in nearly two decades.

Tech

Scientists Suggest U.S. Embassies Were Hit With High-Power Microwaves – Here’s How The Weapons Work

High-power microwave weapons are useful for disabling electronics. They might also be behind the ailments suffered by US diplomats and CIA agents in Cuba and China.

Defense

These Texans Were Rescued By The U.S. Government After Getting Stranded In Peru. Now, The Bills Are Arriving.

The U.S. State Department has sent letters to Americans rescued abroad during the pandemic asking for repayment for the repatriation flights and threatening to withhold tax refunds or social security payments if the debt goes unpaid for months.