nasa1974's Account Talk

[nasa1974]

http://www.govexec.com/

Lawmakers lambast OPM for jobs site glitches, slow retirement processing
Agency chief John Berry again defends decision to bring USAJobs in-house and promises a business plan for speedier handling of retirement claims.

 

[nasa1974]

http://www.govexec.com/

· Postal Service will resume FERS retirement contributions next month 11/15/11
USPS lost $5.1 billion in fiscal 2011 and expects to run out of money in fiscal 2012.

· Thrift Savings Plan staff gears up to launch Roth option 11/15/11
Program allowing employees to invest income that already has been taxed will be operational in spring 2012.
James beat me and posted this first.

· OMB touts $17.6 billion in savings from Campaign to Cut Waste 11/15/11
The reduction in the governmentwide payment error rate puts the administration on track to prevent $50 billion in improper payements by 2012.

· DHS might adopt Defense tech for border surveillance, and hire vets to run it 11/15/11
With the drawdown of troops overseas, the Pentagon will have excess equipment and extra personnel to offer.

· Army to integrate reserve and active-duty systems 11/15/11

· Perry proposes sweeping government reform 11/15/11

· Will Energy Secretary Steven Chu stay or go? 11/15/11

Obama to announce military pact with Australia during visit 11/15/11

 

[nasa1974]

WOW!! The last hour of trading almost looked like a feeding frenzy the way all the funds fell. Right now Europe doesn't look good. Might have to drag out a fresh pair of sticky pants.

 

[nasa1974]

http://www.govexec.com/

Survey: Federal employee satisfaction declines
FDIC ranked best place to work in government.

 

[nasa1974]

http://www.govexec.com/

· Council moves forward on performance management plan 11/16/11
Labor-management group recommends better training for supervisors and more feedback between employees and their bosses.

· Lawmakers, OMB push to ban more `bad-actor' contractors 11/16/11
Reasons for agency reluctance include lack of awareness of the rules and difficulty recognizing contractor's names in a database, panelist says.

· House report slams 10-year-old TSA 11/16/11
Republican lawmakers blast agency as ineffective and offer recommendations to alter its course.

· What you need to know about the super committee 11/16/11
More on the group of lawmakers tasked with cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal budget over the next 10 years.

· Ron Paul takes End the Fed campaign to Washington 11/16/11

· Emails suggest Energy Department put politics above economics with Solyndra 11/16/11

· Secret Service: Bullet hit White House, stopped by glass 11/16/11

· Obama to deploy up to 250 marines to Australia next year under new pact 11/16/11

· Play of the Day -- Comedians love Cain's long pause on Libya 11/16/11

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

WOW!! The last hour of trading almost looked like a feeding frenzy the way all the funds fell. Right now Europe doesn't look good. Might have to drag out a fresh pair of sticky pants.

I already had to, lost a bit of $$$ on the sell off... I guess I should just put everything in cash and wait until 2015...

 

[Birchtree]

You do that. Be scared, really scared.

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

Wow, PermaBull; thats even more bullish than usual. Can you say "Margin Call" ?

 

[Birchtree]

Unfortunately, margin calls come with the territory and so do the leveraged gains and the tax deductions.

 

[nasa1974]

The S fund almost took a vertical drop. What the heck happened at 12:30?

 

[nasa1974]

Yahoo! News

Congress OKs bill averting government shutdown



By ALAN FRAM | AP

"WASHINGTON (AP) — A weekend government shutdown that neither party wanted was averted when Congress approved a compromise spending bill Thursday, as leaders overcame major defections by Republicans angry over what they considered excessive spending. To the dismay of liberals, the measure also blocks Obama administration plans to impose stricter nutrition standards on school lunches..."

http://news.yahoo.com/congress-oks-bill-averting-government-shutdown-001754978.html

 

[nasa1974]

[URL]http://www.govexec.com/


HUD secretary focuses on employee morale[/URL]
Shaun Donovan aims to pull up a department that has ranked low in worker satisfaction.


· Federal budget managers stay upbeat despite challenges11/17/11
Seventy-one percent of survey respondents are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs.

· Obama threatens veto of defense authorization bill 11/17/11
The move is a sharp escalation of the administration's battle with Congress over the future course of the war on terror.

· Senators consider British approach to regulatory review11/17/11
Warner examines proposal to create CBO-like body to gauge costs of rules.

· Most federal IT funding expected to escape super committee's knife11/17/11
Industry leaders say the need to upgrade and secure networks will not diminish, and may even accelerate.

· Alleged White House shooter charged with assassination attempt11/17/11

· The Week in Comments: Cuts, buyouts and benefits 11/17/11

· Energy Secretary says politics did not influence Solyndra loan11/17/11

· House repeals contractor withholding tax11/17/11

· Play of the Day -- Super committee is superbad and Congress asks if pizza is a vegetable11/17/11

 

[nasa1974]

http://www.govexec.com/

Financially ailing Postal Service gets a reprieve
Measure keeping government open also allows USPS to defer multibillion-dollar retiree health benefit payment.



· Deficit reduction talks break down11/20/11
Super committee is likely to miss its deadline, triggering automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion, half of which target the Pentagon.

· NYC suspect arrested in plot to attack government workers11/20/11
Jose Pimentel is thought to have been targeting government offices, including post offices.

· NASA employee wins cost-cutting competition11/18/11
Idea to create a lending library for specialized tools will be incorporated in President Obama's fiscal 2013 budget request.

· Senators propose new cap on contractor pay11/18/11
Reimbursement ceiling of $400,000 would compromise between White House plan and current law.

· President signs bill funding six departments and keeping other agencies open11/18/11

· Balanced-budget amendment fails in House11/18/11

· DHS to start vetting virtual fence contractors by February11/18/11

· E-waste and telework are part of effort to reduce the government's environmental footprint11/18/11

· Perry says his plan would make super committee unnecessary 11/18/11

 

[nasa1974]

http://www.govexec.com/


OPM issues guidance on workforce restructuring
Buyouts, early outs, layoffs and other management tools addressed in memo from Director John Berry.


· Obama keeps 'change agent' mantle in wake of super committee defeat 11/22/11
White House is determined not to let the congressional failure be judged a presidential failure as well.

· House gears up for votes on far-reaching regulatory reforms 11/22/11
Advocacy groups campaign to derail bills requiring increased cost-benefit analysis.

· GAO outlines IT best practices for federal agencies 11/22/11
Guidance developed from interviews with IT staff on seven major projects identified as models of good management.

· Obama: 'I will veto any effort' to undo automatic cuts 11/22/11
President vows to keep up pressure for bipartisan deal on deficit reduction.

· Perry: Attorney general should resign 11/22/11

· Deficit reduction panel concedes defeat 11/21/11

· USPS, unions still negotiating over pay and benefits 11/21/11

· Super committee failure helps feds in short term 11/21/11

· Sequester fight is on the horizon 11/21/11

· White House inaction stalls FOIA recommendations 11/21/11

· Hispanic hiring efforts buoyed by broader diversity initiatives 11/21/11

 

[nasa1974]

I just want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

To our friends in law enforcement and the military. Thank you for putting yourself out there to protect us.

 

[Steel_Magnolia]

Sitting here thinking about the things I'm thankful for, and one of them is you, my friend.

 

[Birchtree]

I'd be thankful for some date cookies when you get back to the stove.

 

[nasa1974]

[URL]http://www.govexec.com/


[/URL]Navy's amphibious fleet could fall short of goals, CBO says
Main vehicle for delivering Marines to combat might be scaled back by tightened budgets.


U.S. NAVY


· White House looks to beef up management of electronic records 11/28/11
The government lacks a uniform system for preserving emails, blog posts and social media activity.

· Poll: Sequestration Anxiety 11/28/11
Tell us how upcoming across-the-board spending cuts could affect your job.

· New CMS nominee known as a pragmatist 11/28/11
Down-to-earth attitude could help Tavenner avoid the controversy that has dogged outgoing chief Donald Berwick.

· We the People draws a curious crowd 11/28/11
Legalization of marijuana and animal cruelty top petitioners' concerns; the economy and national security, not so much.

· A hot flash in the cold war with Pakistan 11/28/11

· Super committee GOPer: Automatic cuts must be reconfigured 11/28/11

· NASA launches mission to Mars11/28/11

 

[nasa1974]

WOW!! The VIX is below 28 the C&S funds are over 3% and the I fund is over 4%. What kind of ride are we in for today?

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

What kind of ride are we in for today?

It's not the ride today I am worried about... tomorrow on the other hand...