Within his first few months in office, President Obama signed the largest economic recovery package in a generation, significantly boosted government assistance to banks and auto manufacturers, and augmented the role of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. No matter your political affiliation, it is undeniable that these policies have expanded the missions of federal agencies, and by proxy, those of government contractors. ...

Groups representing federal and postal workers and retirees have delivered the goods as never before. This year, 2009, will go down in the books as as-good-as-it-gets. The new Defense Authorization Act contains an array of eye-popping new benefits for federal workers in both major retirement systems, retirees and former feds who want to make a comeback in government. The back-stage lobbying ...

In a model that could be copied by other cities, the three major health systems serving Camden are joining with local doctors to share health records of patients who give their permission, enabling doctors to give more timely and informed care. Cooper University Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, and Virtua Health - normally fierce competitors - plan to join ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Census Bureau on Friday severed its ties with ACORN, a community organization that has been hit with Republican accusations of voter-registration fraud. "We do not come to this decision lightly," Census director Robert Groves wrote in a letter to ACORN, which was obtained by The Associated Press. In splitting with ACORN, Groves sought to tamp down GOP ...

Late Monday, the Senate voted on and unanimously passed telework legislation which had been held up for more than a year. The 2010 Telework Enhancement Act (S. 707), sponsored by Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, is designed to expand telecommuting opportunities in the federal government by making employees presumptively eligible and requiring agencies to take a number of ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Army captain from Oregon pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he stole nearly $700,000 from the U.S. government while serving in Iraq. U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty set sentencing for March 1 after Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen entered guilty pleas to theft and money-laundering charges. The maximum sentence for each offense is 10 years in ...

This Veterans Day is a bittersweet celebration -- a mix of admiration and appreciation on behalf of all of those who serve in the U.S. military and lingering pain and disbelief about the tragic shooting that left 13 dead and 29 wounded at Fort Hood last week. As the nation mourns the military members and civilians killed and injured on Nov. ...

The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program typically includes an array of health insurance options. But this year the choices are more limited than before because 32 health insurance plans are leaving FEHBP or reducing their coverage across the country. "It's kind of a disturbing trend," said Dave Snell, retirement benefits service department director for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees ...

As another deadline looms, approximately 18,000 U.S. Postal Service employees so far have accepted a $15,000 buyout offer, officials have reported. The final tally of buyout acceptances from each job category isn't available yet, said Yvonne Yoerger, a Postal Service spokeswoman. It's also too soon to determine the agency's savings as a result of the buyout, she added. Employees were required ...

WHEW! Just when commuters around the region were gearing up for the second week of the six-day transit strike, the Transport Workers Union Local 234 signed a deal that put its workers back on the job. Gov. Rendell said early this morning at a hastily called news conference at the Bellevue, at Broad and Walnut streets, that the subways, buses ...

The U.S. Postal Service must look for new ways to generate revenue beyond simply reducing its workforce, said lawmakers and witnesses during a House hearing on Thursday. Employee layoffs are not the only solution to digging the agency out of debt, said Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform's federal workforce subcommittee. "It would be a ...

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. David Paterson says he's putting together a plan that would lay off thousands of state government workers at the beginning of next year to help balance the budget. Paterson said Tuesday he'll direct state agencies to begin picking positions that could be eliminated starting Jan. 1. That date marks the expiration of the no-layoffs pledge ...

Federal agencies might have better luck selecting the best job candidates if they included a simulation of the work in the application process, according to a new report from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Developing tests to see how prospective employees respond to a given work environment or how they perform a particular task can be expensive. But "agencies need to ...

As major Capitol business and labor groups denounced a tax overhaul package released Tuesday by a blue-ribbon commission, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger essentially embraced the plan, whose key components would flatten the state's income tax and install a new form of consumption tax on businesses. The Republican governor said he would sign the plan if it landed on his desk in ...

A group of manufacturing industry representatives--including the National Association of Manufacturers, American National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the Manufacturers Alliance, and Rockwell Automation--has gone on record noting that a federal strategy and support is critical if American manufacturers are to thrive in the post-recession global economy. This transformation to smarter, safer, and more sustainable manufacturing provides an opportunity for the federal government ...

The additional workload associated with administering billions of dollars in stimulus funds has put a strain on the federal government's contracts and grants workforce, according to new findings the Commerce Department's inspector general released last Friday. Although agencies are prioritizing Recovery Act work and, in many instances, hiring more staff or realigning tasks, the increased workload has exacted a price on ...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced a program Thursday in which its workers can receive college credit from the online American Public University and receive a tuition discount from the school. The company also said it will commit $50 million over three years to help workers pay for books and tuition above the reduced tuition rate. After the reduction, ...

Since he arrived at the Office of Personnel Management in April, Director John Berry has been an active advocate for federal charitable giving. The summer-long Feds Feed Families canned food drive collected more than 1 million pounds of goods for food banks nationwide, and Berry is confident that federal employees of all ages also will deliver for the 2009 Combined Federal ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress on Monday sent President Barack Obama a bill that allows military spouses to claim residency in the same state as their wives or husbands. Under current law, service members can choose to keep their original residency as they relocate. [widget:militarycom_call_out] Spouses who lobbied for the change said having that same right would prevent hassles associated with every ...

A Republican senator is holding up legislation that would prevent Transportation Department workers furloughed earlier this month from losing pay. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he is upset by the bill's funding mechanism. "Time and time again, Congress intentionally waits until the last minute to consider important legislation and then declares the billions of dollars in foreseeable costs as emergency spending ...