TARP Creates Staffing Headaches for Treasury The Government Accountability Office has released its latest progress report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Treasury Department’s new Office of Financial Stability (OFS). The Eye will not even attempt to assess TARP’s economic impact, but will instead focus on how it’s altered the federal food chain.Read… Read more »
It appears that the news media is partially to blame for the continuing decline of the U.S. Postal Service. The bad news about its future came yesterday during a Senate subcommittee hearing on the financial future of the Postal Service. There’s an interesting nugget in the prepared testimony of Phillip Herr, the Government Accountability Office’sRead… Read more »
No, Helen Thomas has not been replaced by Ken Salazar, but the Interior Secretary did take possession of her high-profile front-row seat in the White House Briefing Room this afternoon, becoming the first Obama administration cabinet secretary to appear at a press briefing. It’s the first time anyone can remember a cabinet official sitting inRead… Read more »
President Obama marks his first week in office with much of his cabinet in place, but he still needs to name a commerce secretary to replace Bill Richardson, who withdrew his name from consideration earlier this month. The Commerce Department “is the government agency tasked with improving living standards for all Americans by promoting economicRead… Read more »
The search for a head of the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) appears to have come down on two veterans of the food safety community: Caroline Smith–Dewall, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and former FSIS administrator Barbara J. Masters, who is currently senior policy adviserRead… Read more »
In what would be a reversal of current policy, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar seemed to all but reopen the Statue of Liberty’s crown to public access today, but said his department would wait for the results of a feasibility study due in April before taking action. “As a U.S. senator and now as secretary ofRead… Read more »
(See Ed’s Video Report of The Event Here) A formal welcoming ceremony and Q&A session Thursday turned into a basketball recruiting session for Interior Sec. Ken Salazar as he met with the rank-and-file at the department’s headquarters. After some opening remarks, the secretary fielded several questions on department policy and the possible revocation of BushRead… Read more »
Framed photographs of President Obama and Vice President Biden will soon replace shots of former president George W. Bush and former vice president Richard B. Cheney that have adorned the lobbies of Federal outposts for the past eight years. The new presidential photos, released last week, were the first taken by a digital camera. TheRead… Read more »
Several cabinet secretaries started their new jobs today on the first full day of the Obama administration. So far only Interior Sec. Ken Salazar has been greeted by a formal welcoming ceremony at his new place of employment. Over at Veterans Affairs, there will be no formal welcome for Sec. Eric Shinseki — at leastRead… Read more »
While Senate confirmation hearings have focused mostly on major policy issues of concern, The Eye – with the assistance of washingtonpost.com’s Sarah Lovenheim and intern Ethan Klapper – also reviewed the hearing transcripts for comments about the federal workforce. Workplace and employee issues were not discussed at every confirmation hearing, but several nominees voiced theirRead… Read more »