Asks the Inspector General of Capitol Police to publish reports
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- The Inspector General of the Capitol Police is urged to make his reports public. It comes on the eve of what will certainly be the controversial first anniversary of the insurgency on Capitol Hill. The last push comes from the left group Demand progress who called on the Senate Rules Committee and House Administration Committee to force Capitol Police to post the Inspector General’s reports online. The group said the IG missed the March deadline to report to Congress, listing reports it could make public.
- The Office of Personnel Management wants to repeal federal workforce policies developed under the Trump administration. The OPM is seeking to repeal a Trump administration policy that prevented agencies from agreeing to remove or change information about a federal employee’s performance as a condition of leaving the agency. The OPM said the policy, which took place under a now-repealed Trump presidential executive order, gave agencies limited options for dealing with personnel issues. The OPM is also seeking to end a policy that requires agencies to notify supervisors at least three months, then one month, of the expiration of a newly hired employee’s probation period, and to determine whether that employee is to remain in post. (Federal Information Network)
- Agencies have a new calendar in 2022 to report the use of telecommuting by their employees. the Office of Personnel Management moves the annual data call to start on February 1, instead of the traditional mid-November timeline. The OPM gives agencies until March 11 to answer questions and report data electronically. By changing the reporting schedule, OPM said it is easing the challenges of a year-end data call. It also maximizes the ability for agencies to collect, assess and report the most accurate telework data possible.
- Military and civilian members of the Air and space forces are allowed a four-hour labor pass in order to get a COVID reminder. The Air Force Department strongly encourages all of its employees to get vaccinated and get vaccinated. To date, 95% of all air and space forces have been vaccinated.
- This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Air Force. the Aviation will celebrate this milestone throughout 2022 with various events across the country that highlight the service history, accomplishments and distinguished Airmen. The branch officially came into being on September 18, 1947. Celebrations began on New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl, where the service displayed its B-2 bomber and the Air Force Total Force Band.
- The Defense Health Agency is building a vast network for small hospital markets. In recent years, the Defense Health Agency has taken control of hospitals and military clinics from the wards and spread them across geographic markets. These markets would help standardize care and share resources. However, some did not fit a market or were just too far away. At the end of 2021, DHA created a catch-all organization for small market clinics and free-standing hospitals. The organization is a massive conglomerate of more than 140 institutions, which will come together to standardize healthcare in the military. (Federal Information Network)
- United States Transportation Command plans a new multi-year contract for a wide range of its IT and cybersecurity functions. TRANSCOM said it expects a solicitation in early March and a final award in September. The planned contract goes beyond the current managed IT services contract of the order. TRANSCOM also planned to include network operations, hardware and software procurement, cybersecurity and a range of other technology services.
- the Federal Aviation Administration examines how to build zero confidence in the national air transport infrastructure. The FAA is trying to better understand how to move its four operating environments into a micro-segmentation architecture and apply the principles of zero trust. To that end, the FAA has issued an Information Request seeking industry comment on how to apply these cyber tools at both the network and application level. The FAA also wants the zero trust micro-segmentation approach to work on-premises and in the cloud as well as in sensitive environments. The FAA asks the industry to answer more than 70 questions on its approach, supply chain risk management, training and support for this implementation. Responses to the RFI are expected on February 1.
- A big data contract in the intelligence community is now the subject of protests. Leidos protests against a potential $ 4.5 billion data services contract awarded by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. NGA awarded the deal to General Dynamics Information Technology in early December. The potential 10-year contract provides for IT services at three main NGA sites and over 150 partner sites around the world. the Government Accountability Office has until April 7 to render its decision on the protest against Leidos’ offer.
- An internal government watchdog urges U.S. citizenship and immigration services to drop the newspaper. In a new report, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security focuses on USCIS ‘continued reliance on manual processing and paper files. USCIS has limited electronic filing capabilities for more than 80 types of benefits. The IG said technology performance issues further limited the agency’s productivity. The challenges led to long processing times and a backlog of over 3.8 million cases in May 2021.
- The head of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation plans to step down next month. Former President Donald Trump appointed Jelena McWilliams as FDIC chairman for a term that would expire in 2023, but she said she would step down a year earlier. Democrats hold a majority on the FDIC board, and Martin Gruenberg will be its interim chairman. In his resignation letter, McWilliams praised FDIC staff for supporting the U.S. financial system throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The National Union of Treasury Employees has obtained a new second in command. NTEU members elected Doreen Greenwald, a longtime union leader and IRS revenue manager, as national executive vice president. Greenwald succeeds former executive vice president Jim Bailey, who retired at the end of 2021. Greenwald previously helped lead the NTEU’s ongoing COVID discussions for its larger bargaining unit and served as chairman of the Wisconsin union branch.
- The postal service regulator has chosen a new vice president to help lead operations. Members of Postal regulation commission elected Commissioner Ann Fisher for a one-year term as second-in-command. Fisher was previously director of public affairs and government relations for the commission before former President Donald Trump appointed her to serve as one of its commissioners. Fisher served as Senator Susan Collins’ deputy director of personnel and helped craft the last major postal reform bill to pass in 2006.