The number of political appointees converting-or burrowing-into career positions is minute, according to the Office of Personnel Management. In 2008, OPM says it reviewed 58 conversions and found only two of the required further evaluation. This is out of more than 1,600 political positions. The minority staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reported in 2005 that the Bush ...

Since the BP (NYSE:BP) Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, the American government has deployed 17,500 National Guard troops to respond to the environmental crisis. Over 484 miles of shoreline have been impacted, and 81,181 square miles of Gulf of Mexico waters have been closed to fishing. Many are wondering if, with stronger regulations, the incident could have been prevented. ...

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history. The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - What's all the fuss about? After all the noise over Democrats' push for a government insurance plan to compete with private carriers, coverage numbers are finally in: Two percent. That's the estimated share of Americans younger than 65 who'd sign up for the public option plan under the health care bill that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is steering ...

The terms of a proposed contract between Erie County and the union that represents jail personnel at the Holding Center call for the workers to contribute to their health insurance, especially in retirement, and surrender some paid time off. In return, they would receive a lump sum payment that county officials say will average $4,000 a worker, plus a more generous ...

The Homeland Security Department's ability to fully integrate its new IT procurement practices has been hindered by insufficient staffing in the Office of the Chief Information Officer and fragmented management practices, an agency watchdog testified on Tuesday. Deputy Inspector General James Taylor told a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee that DHS has made significant progress in managing and overseeing its ...

The rules governing federal employee compensation are complicated enough when they're reported accurately. Mischaracterizations in the general media only muddy the waters further in discussions over how civil servants' salaries are set and how they stack up against private sector pay. If the Obama administration wants to start an informed debate outside the Beltway over federal compensation, it must correct repeated ...

When Arizona economic development officials look across their state, they envision the Saudi Arabia of solar. The state has sun, land, workers and proximity to California, the biggest solar market in the U.S. Yet for years, Arizona has failed to attract the big solar manufacturers that build the mirrors, panels and other components for solar equipment. In the past three years, ...

The Senate Thursday passed legislation to increase the statutory debt limit to $14.3 trillion, a $1.9 trillion boost, after adopting a pay/go amendment requiring any mandatory spending increases or tax cuts to be offset. "We've gone to the restaurant; we've eaten the meal, and now the only question is whether we are going to pay the check," Senate Finance Committee Chairman ...

It's tough enough selling military service to teenagers who might not be so keen on getting their heads shaved or buy the whole "we do more by 9 a.m." line. And the fact that enlisting today could very well mean a visit to the front lines doesn't help, either. But according to a new report, there are other factors that make ...

The government is developing a comprehensive database that will track the performance of federal contractors, according to a proposed rule published Thursday in the Federal Register. Click here to read the proposed rule The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, which the General Services Administration will maintain, will integrate a handful of existing databases with new information provided by contracting ...

The Office of Personnel Management is looking to create a new framework for classifying, selecting, developing and evaluating federal cybersecurity workers. In a letter sent Friday to agency chief human capital officers, OPM Director John Berry noted that creating competency models for cybersecurity jobs has been deemed a high priority. As a result, OPM along with the National Security Council Interagency ...

Most Americans have a neutral to negative opinion of federal agencies, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday. The poll, conducted during the summer, asked more than 40,000 Americans to rate their individual experience with federal agencies to understand the public's overall perception of government. Nearly half (46 percent) viewed agencies neutrally, while 34 percent reported negative opinions and 20 ...

WASHINGTON - Businesses receiving federal contracts under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program reported creating or saving more than 30,000 jobs in the first months of the program, according to data released Thursday by a government oversight board. The numbers, based on jobs linked to less than $16 billion in federal contracts, represent just a sliver of the $787 billion stimulus ...

When President Obama signed legislation that repealed the National Security Personnel System, on a warm day in late October, the Rose Garden celebration seemed like a bit of a letdown. The rollback of the controversial Defense Department pay program was just one of many federal employee provisions bundled into the fiscal 2010 National Defense Authorization Act and was largely overshadowed by ...

The health insurance program that covers President Obama and members of Congress has been touted during the current debate as a model for overhauling the nation's health-care system. But one overlooked aspect of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program is that many federal workers go without health insurance for themselves or members of their families. Meet Lorene Salazar, the mother of ...

Participation in telework rose in 2008, but the percentage of eligible federal employees who took advantage of the alternative work arrangement on a regular basis remained small, according to a report released Wednesday by the Office of Personnel Management. Click here to read the report Last year, 102,900 federal employees worked off-site at least once a month, the report stated. That's ...

FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire, the base commander said Friday. Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said officials had not yet confirmed that the suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, made the comment, which is Arabic for "God is great!" ...

MINNEAPOLIS – Minneapolis assistant police Chief Sharon Lubinski has become the first openly gay U.S. marshal. The U.S. Senate confirmed the Green Bay, Wis. native to be the U.S. marshal for the Minnesota district. Last week's confirmation also makes her the first female marshal in the state. Lubinski has served a number of roles with the Minneapolis Police. She was also ...

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has placed a blanket hold on all executive nominations on the Senate calendar in an effort to win concessions from the Obama administration and Pentagon on a variety of fronts affecting his home state, according to aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid spokeswoman Regan Lachapelle said Shelby is blocking more than 70 pending nominations. ...