Two GOP lawmakers look to defund armed regulatory officers at certain federal agencies
newsletter via Feeds on Inoreader 2023-07-07
Summary:
- Is that recording of your agency’s latest Zoom meeting a federal record? The National Archives said it probably is in many cases. A draft bulletin released by the National Archives and Records Administration this week said agencies must incorporate records management practices into their use of collaboration platforms. The use of those tools, like Zoom, Webex, Slack and Discord, has become a fixture in government over the last few years. The draft NARA bulletin said agencies should work with platform providers to ensure records can be exported with required metadata. And while they do not have to record every video meeting, agencies should at least document any substantive conversations the same way they would for an in-person meeting.
- With hurricane season underway, the Office of Personnel Management has a few reminders for agencies about leave for federal employees. When emergencies arise, OPM said agencies should let employees use something called "weather and safety leave." Agencies can give employees this type of time off in the case that they cannot safely travel to or perform work at their normal worksite. Telework is an important tool for agencies in these types of emergencies, OPM said. Agencies can also authorize travel payments in the case that an employee needs to evacuate an area due to safety concerns. And another flexibility lets federal employees offer unused time off to other feds adversely affected by a natural disaster or other emergency. OPM issued the reminder about weather and safety leave after the impacts from Typhoon Mawar.(HR flexibilities and procedures for disasters and other emergency situations - Office of Personnel Management)
- Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, is looking to eliminate law enforcement personnel at several federal agencies. Higgins has introduced the "No Funds for Armed Regulators Act," which would defund armed federal regulatory enforcement officers at the IRS, the Labor Department and the EPA. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, recently introduced a similar bill that would prohibit the IRS from purchasing firearms for its agents. (Higgins introduces the No Funds for Armed Regulators Act of 2023 - Rep Clay Higgins (R-La.))
- Five agencies have won extra funding for IT modernization. The Technology Modernization Fund board awarded more than $50 million to five agencies to accelerate the move to digital services, improve customer experience and enhance cybersecurity. The National Transportation Safety Board, the Bureau of Land Management and EPA each won their first TMF awards — NTSB and BLM for digital services improvements and EPA for cybersecurity. The departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor were repeat winners of extra funding — VA for customer experience and Labor for zero trust. The TMF board has invested $750 million in 45 projects since 2018.(Five agencies win $50.5M in new IT, cyber, CX investments - Federal News Network)
- The Office of Personnel Management is taking its first step to identify artificial intelligence skills for federal employees. OPM, in a governmentwide memo to chief human capital officers, is outlining more than 50 competencies agencies should consider when hiring staff into AI-related positions. The memo specifies technical skills like data analysis and communicating an AI’s tool findings to agency leadership. All of this is required under the 2020 AI in Government Act. OPM’s memo is the first step to potentially creating a new federal job series for AI experts or updating an existing job series to include AI professionals. (OPM takes first step to identify what federal employees need to know to work with AI - Federal News Network)
- The Defense Department could get an office of academic engagement for its cyber workforce. The House version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision for the office. It would provide a pathway for hiring and retaining more cyber workers in the future by partnering with both secondary and post-secondary schools. DoD currently has about 30,000 unfilled positions for cyber specialists, but has a new strategy for developing the workforce that in