http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/ Government Executive Editor in Chief Tom Shoop, along with other editors and staff correspondents, take a fresh look at news affecting the management and operations of the federal bureaucracy. en Copyright 2012 Tue,31 Jan 2012 17:11:35 GMT http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss These days, Cabinet meetings are mostly for show, and generally designed to promote the idea that all departments are behind some aspect of the president's agenda. Today's meeting was a case in point. President Obama welcomed Karen Mills, administrator... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/a_cabinet_full_of_entrepreneur.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/a_cabinet_full_of_entrepreneur.php webmaster@govexec.com (Tom Shoop) Tue,31 Jan 2012 17:11:35 GMT Cass Sunstein, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has never been shy about showcasing the administration's regulatory accomplishments. On Monday, he went a step further, writing in a blog post that the effort, ordered by... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/regular_regulatory_habits.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/regular_regulatory_habits.php webmaster@govexec.com (Charles S. Clark) Tue,31 Jan 2012 16:53:54 GMT Sharp-eyed followers of the current debate over defense cuts might notice an oddity in language. What is officially called the Defense Base Closure and Realignment process takes the acronym BRAC -- even officially -- which logically would stand for Base... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/what_does_brac_stand_for.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/what_does_brac_stand_for.php webmaster@govexec.com (Charles S. Clark) Mon,30 Jan 2012 16:32:23 GMT No matter who emerges victorious in this year's presidential campaign, the winner may not be able to occupy the Oval Office for at least part of next year, Washingtonian's "Capital Comment" blog reports. Ongoing renovations of the White House... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/who_gets_to_occupy_the_oval_of.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/who_gets_to_occupy_the_oval_of.php webmaster@govexec.com (Tom Shoop) The White House Sat,28 Jan 2012 16:15:24 GMT If you're thinking you might be able to capitalize financially on the birth of Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby daughter, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has a message for you: Back off. The Smoking Gun reports that a New... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/patent_and_trademark_office_si.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/patent_and_trademark_office_si.php webmaster@govexec.com (Tom Shoop) Fri,27 Jan 2012 19:09:31 GMT It would be wrong for an agency to pass judgment on the performance of others without willingness to subject itself to the same standards. So perhaps the Government Accountability Office should be applauded for releasing on Thursday its Performance and... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/gao_tastes_its_own_medicine.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/gao_tastes_its_own_medicine.php webmaster@govexec.com (Charles S. Clark) Fri,27 Jan 2012 18:33:06 GMT The announcement of a new round of BRAC closures and some careful trimming of military pay raises might have been the biggest personnel news from the highlights of the fiscal 2013 Pentagon budget released Thursday. But a statement about civilian... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/civilian_federal_cuts_mentione.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/civilian_federal_cuts_mentione.php webmaster@govexec.com (Amanda Palleschi) Benefits Budget Defense Fri,27 Jan 2012 17:14:55 GMT Conspicuous by its absence in President Obama's reelection campaign is a loud defense of the controversial Affordable Care Act, which many Republicans want to repeal and is up for review by the Supreme Court. But the Health and Human Services... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/hhs_works_below_political_rada.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/hhs_works_below_political_rada.php webmaster@govexec.com (Charles S. Clark) Thu,26 Jan 2012 16:51:45 GMT You may have noticed the peel-back teaser in the upper right corner of our site these days, featuring a sneak peek at the new GovExec.com. (If not, click here to take a look -- and give us your feedback.) We're... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/a_sneak_preview_of_the_new_gov.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/a_sneak_preview_of_the_new_gov.php webmaster@govexec.com (Tom Shoop) Wed,25 Jan 2012 17:44:10 GMT Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday night was revealed out to have been the one Cabinet member who traditionally stays away from the State of the Union address as a security precaution. That assignment may have given him more time... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/preparing_for_school_lunches.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/preparing_for_school_lunches.php webmaster@govexec.com (Charles S. Clark) Wed,25 Jan 2012 17:42:25 GMT 10:16 p.m. And that's a wrap. For the record, here are all of the segments of the speech I could find that addressed government operations, new entities, management reforms, etc: "I'm announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/state_of_the_union_live_blog.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/state_of_the_union_live_blog.php webmaster@govexec.com (Tom Shoop) Wed,25 Jan 2012 03:16:14 GMT The Onion continues its fabulous series on the vice president's activities at the White House, with an item on his generous willingness to share his guitar skills.... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/joe_biden_shredder.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/joe_biden_shredder.php webmaster@govexec.com (Tom Shoop) Tue,24 Jan 2012 21:20:04 GMT ABC World News with Diane Sawyer was surely well-intentioned on Monday night when it sent correspondent Steve Osunsami to tornado-ravaged Alabama. But his effort to counsel viewers on how to sign up for an e-mail alert service from the Federal... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/femas_correct_address.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/femas_correct_address.php webmaster@govexec.com (Charles S. Clark) Tue,24 Jan 2012 19:24:49 GMT As the Office of Personnel Management tries to develop a plan to address longstanding problems with delays in dealing with retirement applications, the process seems to be getting even more confusing. The Washington Post's Joe Davidson reports today that the... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/on_retirement_processing_even.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/on_retirement_processing_even.php webmaster@govexec.com (Tom Shoop) Tue,24 Jan 2012 13:16:46 GMT When released in 2005, the recommendations of the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closing Commission made a lot of people unhappy. But that didn't halt the emergence of the term "BRAC-like" among advocates of various recent proposals for reorganizing government. Last... http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/everythings_brac-like.php http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2012/01/everythings_brac-like.php webmaster@govexec.com (Charles S. Clark) Fri,20 Jan 2012 16:41:08 GMT