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New Head of DHS – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

  • With only a few weeks left in 2013, it is time to start predicting what will happen in the days, weeks and months ahead. We asked John Palguta to peer into his crystal ball and give us his predictions for the year ahead.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

  1. The Senate is on track Tuesday to clear a key procedural hurdle for final passage of a two-year, bipartisan budget deal before the end of the week. A significant bloc of Senate Republicans have said they will oppose the agreement, but enough Republicans are expected to help Democrats get the 60 votes they need to end debate and approve the legislation, reports Federal Times.

  2. The Senate has overwhelmingly confirmed Jeh Johnson to head the Department of Homeland Security and could take up the more contentious nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to become DHS deputy secretary later this week. Johnson won approval by a vote of 78-16. The Monday night vote on Johnson’s nomination came two months after President Obama chose him to lead the 240,000-employee agency. Johnson will replace Janet Napolitano, who left in September to run the University of California system, reports Federal Times.

  3. Sequestration forced revenue losses on almost two-thirds of contractors in 2013, according to a survey by a consulting firm released Tuesday. Almost 31 percent of the 220 firms that responded to the survey by Market Connections Inc. and Lohfeld Consulting Group Inc. said their revenue fell by more than 10 percent, while another 30 percent reported declines of nearly 10 percent, reports Government Executive.

  4. Charles Edwards, the embattled acting inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, has resigned. Carlton Mann, chief operating officer for the IG’s office, has taken Edwards’ place. Edwards has been under investigation for months by a Senate oversight subcommittee looking into allegations that he changed report findings in response to outside pressure, engaged in nepotism and other issues, reports Federal Times.

  5. The White House has named its annual SAVE Award finalists. The four federal employees have suggested ways to save the government money. Now it’s time for the public to vote on their ideas, reports Federal News Radio.

  6. The Office of Government Ethics has posted a notice on its Web site calling attention to its guidance in poetic form on giving and accepting gifts, policies that apply to federal employees year-round but that draw added interest during the holiday season. The poem covers considerations for exchanging gifts in the workplace — “I can give to my boss to a limit of ten/A baseball, a cap, or a blue ballpoint pen” — and accepting them from outside, allowable for anything worth up to $20 because “surely the public/Is certain to see/I could never be bought for a sandwich and tea,” reports the Washington Post.

  7. The Navy has released plans for renovating the building that was the scene of the Navy Yard shooting. Building 197 will remain the headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command. When employees return in 2015, they’ll see a new visitor’s entrance and a memorial to the dozen colleagues who were killed in September, reports Federal News Radio.

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder

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