The Government Man has been pretty quiet lately, save for an occasional blog or You Tube posting. The GSA scandal has been long out of the news. My insiders tell me that GSA has taken disciplinary action against those implicated in the alleged wrongdoing. As I said before, I am not attempting to defend thoseRead… Read more »
There has been a lot of talk on GovLoop this week about tech savviness among different generations, namely which one can rightfully call itself the most skilled. As if on cue comes a counter conversation about a low-tech transparency initiative in which citizens can can access information about Congress and their state, all from theRead… Read more »
The Transportation Security Administration has been a hot-bed of House GOP criticism for months, most recently noted by the House Homeland Security transportation subcommittee hearing titled “TSA’s Efforts to Fix Its Poor Customer Service Reputation and Become a Leaner, Smarter Agency.” The title was objected to by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), who claimed thatRead… Read more »
My blog posts on the GSA so-called scandal and my first You Tube posting received plenty of attention so I figured I would follow it up with more good cheer. I hope my message got across and reason is starting to prevail. What happened to the GSA scandal? It’s barely in the news anymore –Read… Read more »
Here’s a bit of “inside Washington” trivia to pass around the office today – do members of congress have security clearances? The topic of security clearance for elected officials has long been a complex one. Members of congress – even those in sensitive committee positions – do not receive or obtain security clearances in theRead… Read more »
Last week, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Darrell Issa, held a hearing entitled “Where Are All the Watchdogs? Addressing Inspector General Vacancies.” The purpose of the hearing was supposed to be why there are so many vacant Inspector General positions (the Presidentially appointed, Senate confirmed ones anyway). The Project onRead… Read more »
The House took steps last year to post bills online for three days prior to voting in PDF and XML format. If Congress truly wanted transparency and feedback from experts and average citizens on the draft legislation, they should add comment boards for each bill. Either at the bottom of the bill or at theRead… Read more »
Congress is oft portrayed as not doing their jobs, having failed to pass a budget since 2008. Finally, one congressman is doing something about it by proposing a bill that would stop congressional pay if the legislature fails to pass a budget by the due date, without giving back-pay after a budget is passed. TheRead… Read more »
There’s been a lot of talk lately on GovLoop about potential federal pay freezes, employee reductions, and increases in the amount workers must pay into retirement funds. To increase awareness about the proposals, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has compiled a list of bills aimed at accomplishing the goals listed above. According to theRead… Read more »
Earlier this week, appropriators held a hearing on funding for the legislative agencies that make government information available to the public. Three organizations, the Sunlight Foundation, the Participatory Politics Foundation, and PopVox, filed comments on the importance of making legislative information directly available to the public as a downloadable database, instead of item-by-item, which isRead… Read more »