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NEWS: March 18, 2016
House Oversight Chairman Investigating Feds' Bonuses Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is looking into bonus pay "across the federal government," initially asking the heads of the FBI, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management for details of spending over the past 10 years on employee bonuses of several types, including the Presidential Rank Awards for Senior Executive Service members. >> Government Executive Democrats in Both Chambers Backing 5.3% Raise for Feds Support for a 5.3 percent pay raise for federal employees is now coming from Democrats in both chambers of Congress, with four senators co-sponsoring a companion bill to the House's proposal to boost the 1.6 percent raise President Obama is recommending. >> Federal News Radio OPM Gets Acting CIO from OMB As the Office of Personnel Management continues to dig out from the massive breach of its networks last year, the agency is bringing in help from the Office of Management and Budget. Deputy federal CIO Lisa Schlosser will be joining OPM as acting CIO. >> Federal Times
Governor, EPA Chief Face Calls to Resign over Flint Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and federal Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy faced scathing criticism and calls to resign Thursday during a combative congressional hearing on the Flint water-contamination crisis. Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concentrated their fire on Snyder, a Republican who acknowledged the state's failures. Republicans focused their barbs at McCarthy, an Obama appointee who refused under questioning to admit that her agency did anything wrong. >> Detroit News Governor: Emergency Managers Failed Flint Snyder, who has been a strong advocate of financial overseers for municipalities in financial distress, admitted to the House oversight committee that his state-appointed emergency managers in Flint failed to protect the city from contamination of the water supply. >> Detroit Free Press Citing Flint, S&P Lower's Michigan's Credit Outlook Standard & Poor's lowered the outlook on Michigan's credit rating to stable from positive, citing burgeoning costs associated with the Flint water crisis and the cash-strapped Detroit public schools. >> Reuters
Study: Most Soldiers Are Sleep-Deprived The Army has just finished its first ever base-by-base study on the health of service members. Among the findings: Only about 15 percent of soldiers are getting the 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night most adults require, mostly for reasons that have nothing to do with military deployments. Other data points raising concern among Army health officials: Thirty-two percent of soldiers smoke or use smokeless tobacco and 13 percent were classified as obese. >> Federal News Radio Air Force General Removed over Inappropriate Emails Lt. Gen. John Hesterman, the Air Force's assistant vice chief of staff, has been removed after an inspector general's investigation found he exchanged inappropriate emails with a female lieutenant colonel. >> Air Force Times K-12 Education | Boston Teacher-Hiring Revamp Shows Gains, Costs The Boston school district's move to begin its teacher-hiring process earlier and to allow principals more say over who they bring on board has resulted in a stronger and more diverse pool of teacher candidates, according a new analysis noting that the effort also has produced a costly pool of teachers without permanent positions. >> Education Week Ohio Schools Chief: No Going Back to Paper Tests Ohio school districts that believe that giving state tests online will damage their scores can't switch back to using paper tests, interim State Superintendent Lonny Rivera told the districts. >> Cleveland Plain Dealer
Mail Service with Cuba Restored The U.S. Postal Service began mail service with Cuba for the first time in more than half a century. The resumption of service comes as the Obama administration has normalized relations with the Cuban government, halting hostilities between the country and the United States. President Obama reestablished a U.S. embassy in Cuba last July. >> Government Executive Higher Education | Kentucky Lawmakers Back Tuition-Free Community College Students who graduate from Kentucky high schools or home schools or who obtain GEDs in the state will be able to attend community colleges tuition-free under a bill that passed the state House. The bill, which requires students to take 12 credit hours per semester and maintain a 2.0 grade-point average. now moves to the state Senate. >> Louisville Courier-Journal California Regents Weighing Statement on Anti-Semitism The University of California's Board of Regents is to vote next week on a statement condemning anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Jewish bigotry, a proposal that is sparking sharp faculty debate. >> Reuters >> Follow GovManagement on Twitter >> Share this edition:
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DATAPOINTS 15% Increase between July 2014 and July 2015 in the number of Fraternal Order of Police members buying professional liability insurance amid worries they may be sued for their on-duty actions, according to the union >> Reuters 96% Percentage of cases involving civil-rights allegations against law-enforcement officers that federal prosecutors have declined to pursue since 1995, according to an analysis of three million Justice Department records, with weak or insufficient evidence, lack of criminal intent, and orders from the Justice Department the most frequent reasons cited for declining to pursue cases >> Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | More data
“There are so many ways to impact the world. You don't have to be president of the United States to do wonderful, marvelous things.” First lady Michelle Obama, saying she has no intention of running for president but has plenty of plans to effect change once she leaves the White House next January, remarks that came as she--along with singers Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae and former "Glee" star Lea Michele--released a single in support of her worldwide girls' education initiative >> Reuters | More quotes VIEWPOINT Infrastructure | Philip Kennicott Our Broken Urban Landscape It isn't, of course, just Washington's Metro rail system, which was shut down for a day this week for safety inspections of electric cables. As you walk the city's streets, take note of the urban landscape--the broken benches, crumbling curbs, rusting light posts. If you drive, suffer the potholes one by one, cross your fingers and hope you're not on one of the country's more than 70,000 structurally deficient bridges. And remember: We made this landscape, through neglect and dysfunction. It represents our loss of faith in ourselves, our contempt for beauty and, ultimately, our anger and our pessimism. >> Washington Post | More commentaries UPCOMING EVENTS
Council of the Great City Schools Legislative/Poliucy Conference March 19-22, Washington, D.C. Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program on Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results March 20-25, Cambridge, Mass. National Association of State Procurement Officials How to Market to State Governments Meeting March 20-23, Atlanta Heritage Foundation Book event and discussion: "The Grand Strategy That Won the Cold War: Architecture of Triumph" March 20, noon-1 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. National Contract Management Association Conference: "Risk Management for Complex U.S. Government Contracts and Projects" March 21, Linthicum, Md. Brookings Institution Book event: "Putting God Second: How to Save Religion from Itself" March 21, 10-11:30 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Government Investment Officers Association Annual Conference March 23-25, Las Vegas >> Full events listings |
