HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. government said Monday it took responsibility for jet fuel that leaked into a Navy water system serving 93,000 people in 2021, but attorneys dispute whether the families who are suing were exposed to enough tainted water to make them sick. A trial for a mass environmental injury case began in federal court in Honolulu on Monday, more than two years after a U.S. military fuel tank facility under ground poisoned thousands of people when it leaked jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water. Instead of a jury, a judge is hearing about a lawsuit against the United States b ..read more

Several months after initiating return-to-office plans, the Department of Justice is facing questions from its employees about the long-term impacts of a decrease to telework options. In January this year, much of DOJ began working in person more often, with most employees now up to six in-office days per pay period — or about three days per week. But for DOJ’s assistant U.S. attorneys (AUSAs), a handful of offices are creating even stricter return-to-office policies. Even though about 70% of AUSAs currently have two days per week of telework, that’s not the case for everyone, since telework p ..read more

President Joe Biden is calling for an AI talent surge across the federal government. And by the numbers, prospective hires are showing interest in the jobs agencies are advertising. New data from the White House shows applications for AI and AI-enabling roles across the federal government have more than doubled between January and March 2024, compared to the same period in recent years. A White House-led, interagency AI and Tech Talent Task Force, in a report released Monday, said agencies have hired over 150 AI experts, and are on track to hire hundreds more by the end of this summer. The tas ..read more

The Biden administration is planning to shift the federal government’s primary IT job series away from relying on college degree requirements to “skills-based hiring” over the next year. White House officials announced plans to move the GS-2210 “Information Technology Management Series” to skills-based hiring during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington today. “This is a major milestone in our national effort to move to skills-based hiring,” National Cyber Director Harry Coker said. He noted “this process will take time,” but said officials would “get it done” by t ..read more

Agencies, once again, set new records almost across the board for contracting with small businesses in fiscal 2023. New data from the Small Business Administration shows agencies awarded an all-time high of 28.4% of all eligible federal contract dollars to small businesses. At the same time, SBA’s new small business scorecard data shows agencies met or surpassed governmentwide goals in three of five socio-economic category, including service disabled veteran-owned small businesses. In all, agencies awarded $178.6 billion to small businesses last year, which is an increase of $15.7 billion from ..read more

Today’s technology trend, artificial intelligence, is dominating headlines and captivating the attention of every industry, including government. But with any emerging technology, the government’s adoption and deployment requires more care and attention than most industries — and rightfully so. The integration of new technology is complicated by the government’s responsibility of collecting and safeguarding more personally identifiable information than any other industry. For example, the Department of Homeland Security is working to replace their existing biometric identity management system ..read more

Back in November of last year, the National Institutes of Health welcomed its 17th director, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli. Operating the government’s health research wing in a post-pandemic environment comes with a set of different challenges than what her predecessors dealt with. Federal News Network’s Eric White had this opportunity for an in-depth discussion on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin about Bertagnolli’s first six months on the job. Interview Transcript  Eric White Back in November of last year, the National Institutes of Health welcomed its 17th director, Monica Bertinelli. O ..read more

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Now with the issue of giving money to U.S. allies in the rear-view mirror, Congress can return to the task of dishing out cash to federal agencies, as lawmakers are finally able to start work on appropriations for the 2025 fiscal year. However, there are still some rumblings from with the Republican Party that Speaker Mike Johnson may have to worry about down the line. To get an update from Capitol Hill, Federal News Network’s Eric White talked with Maeve Sheehey, Congressional Reporter with Bloomberg Government on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Interview Transcript  Eric White Oh, of ..read more

Agencies are required to use enterprise risk management approaches in their planning and budgeting. Despite the eight-year-old mandate in Circular A-123 from the Office of Management and Budget, a new survey highlights why certain agencies are more successful than others. Jason Bruno, the director of the Office of Strategic Oversight and Performance and chief risk officer at the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Trust Funds Administration and the president of the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM), said it’s clearer than ever what it takes to manage agency risks at ..read more