OhMyGov!

Daily Curiosity: The Atlantic's Best Books of 2009

Evan Morier — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:57:00 GMT

From Lincoln to finance to art, The Atlantic rates the top 25 books of the year.

OPM blasted by judgements in the Ninth Circuit

Evan Morier — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:11:00 GMT

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down two decisions this week requiring health benefits be provided to same-sex spouses of judicial employees.

The Office of Personnel Management had been denying the benefits claims of two employees, prompting Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Alex Kozinski to write: "I have no reason to believe that this discrimination will cease without … action on my part."

Postal Service in crisis, seeking way out

Evan Morier — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:52:00 GMT

The US Postal Service is bleeding money like a trauma victim, not surprising to anyone who has been on the Internet lately. The only snail mail people get now is junk, bills, and Netflix DVDs.

In any case, the Postal Service needs to find a way to stop losing billions of dollars per year. Cutting Saturday delivery and raising rates both appear to have heavy opposition, but won't it have to be one of them if the USPS is still going to deliver the mail?

Obama finally comes to aid of USAID

Samuel Knight — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:38:00 GMT

President Obama has finally nominated an administrator to USAID ten months after taking office. The White House announced last week that it endorsed Rajiv Shah, the Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics at the Department of Agriculture and former Gates Foundation executive, to lead the development agency. Shah's appointment is subject to the approval of the Senate, who will be processing the nomination and holding hearings on the matter soon, according to a spokesperson from the Committee on Foreign Relations.

The announcement comes extremely late for Obama ,who has endured harsh criticism for the delay even from his own quarters. At a meeting with USAID employees in July, Hillary Clinton blasted the President's notoriously demanding vetting process. “It's frustrating beyond words,” the Secretary of State said before contradicting herself by calling the protocol “a nightmare” and “ridiculous.”

Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), the chairman and a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also questioned the indecision. The pair, who passed a bill through committee this week that seeks to reform foreign aid, sent a letter to the White House two months ago imploring the President to pick someone already (pdf). “We recommend,” the two recommended, “that you give strong consideration to selecting a candidate who has already gone through the vetting process,” adding that “experience in global development” would be nice, too.

By nominating Shah, who had to be approved by the Senate to take the job at the USDA, the President at least appears to have heeded this advice.

Those who were discouraged by the vetting process include Dr. Paul Farmer, a man widely lauded for his sustainable community based approach to economic development. Although he was believed to be the President's top choice – and a rock star to development nerds - his auditors seemed to disagree. Were they perhaps concerned that his past criticisms of US foreign policy would' be an unwelcome controversy for the White House during Senate confirmation hearings, or was Farmer simply fed up with the process? Either way, it didn't work out.

Can he develop development?

As someone who has been through the Senate Confirmation Process once already this year, Shah's nomination may not rock the entirety of the establishment, but it hasn't been entirely endearing to the development community. The Washington Independent claims that many insiders are afraid that his appointment means the end of nation building and governance work for USAID. Conversely, he has experience managing large budgets, ones that dwarfed the entire $1.25 billion USAID budget, and his work researching agriculture and public health issues has earned the President praise for selecting Shah from Dr. Orin Levine. Meanwhile, Politico's Lauren Rozen said that USAID staffers don't know enough about Shah and are taking a wait-and-see approach to making an assessment about his nomination.

Outside of the loop, the appointment may not be met with approval either; Shah's work at the Gates Foundation included the promotion and development of a controversial biotechnology, transgenic agriculture. Supporters of the practice not only insists that it is safe and increases agricultural yields, they also claim a consensus exists in the scientific community regarding its safety and benefits. Dissenting studies - including one done by the IAASTD, a group supported by those radical environmentalist neo-luddites at the World Bank - have questioned the safety, productivity and necessity of genetically modifying food, which requires farmers to buy copyright-protected seeds every year. Whatever the truth is, without a stronger consensus on the issue, Shah will most likely encounter the controversy if he pushes the technology in his development work with the same enthusiasm of his former boss.

Afghan idle

Rajiv Shah's most pressing concern may not be the ethics of certain biotechnology, unfortunately, but economic development in Afghanistan. Although the President has claimed that an increase in civilian assistance is vital to his strategy in Afghanistan, public debate has been focused on additional troops. This debate may be utterly pointless if there is no palpable economic improvement. A recent Oxfam poll shows that 70% of Afghans believe that the main cause of the violence is poverty and unemployment.

That Obama has waited so long to name a USAID administrator has not helped alleviate the situation. By its own admission, the organization performed poorly in Afghanistan under the Bush administration, but, with a swift appointment, at least a new leader at USAID could have had an entire bureaucracy hard at work trying to crack economic problems in the Graveyard of Empires. While security problems and concerns about corruption are legitimate, there is no reason that USAID shouldn't have been primed by the White House to make a bold contribution towards an economic development strategy, which is of paramount concern. Instead, the President put off naming a leader to a potentially useful institution for almost a quarter of his first term. In this time, American military casualties have doubled and the rate of Afghan civilian casualties has increased significantly.

Development aid has been sent to Afghanistan by the Obama administration through other channels and it remains to be seen whether or not USAID can help bring the war to an end, though some analysts believe that Shah should be given more of a chance; they have called for the USAID administrator to join the President's National Security Council. Shah's nomination may have come too late to make a difference though — development strategy in Afghanistan, like most other things, has been outsourced to Asians with Japan pledging $5 billion towards civic society development.

The President, at least, has finally decided to consider the role that USAID will play in his foreign policy by nominating someone to lead it.

New CIA ad geared towards Arabs

Evan Morier — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:33:00 GMT

The CIA has filmed a new TV ad to try to spark interest in the CIA among the Arab community. The ad—which shows an Arab-American family at home—tries to convey that the CIA respects the desire for some Arabs to keep close to their family and culture while employed.

DoD and military talk environment at D.C. event

OhMyGov! — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 GMT

A panel of distinguished environmental experts from the Department of Defense met yesterday at the National Press Club to address their efforts to comply with an Obama Administration directive to "green" the federal government.

Executive Order 13514, signed by President Obama, sets numerous green requirements for the federal government, including setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; increasing energy efficiency; reducing fleet petroleum consumption; water conservation; waste reduction; supporting sustainable communities; and leveraging the governments purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.

Here's a quick recap of the event:

"Army Green, Army Strong"

Addison "Tad" Davis highlighted the Army's new environmental campaign, "Army Green, Army Strong." According to Davis, the Army is "building, buying and going green" and with $50 billion in new construction they are positioned to reach 30% energy effectiveness.

Navy's Great Green Fleet

Bryon Paez from the Navy's Energy Office spoke about the ambitious environmental agenda of Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Among the environmental goals the Navy is pursuing at full speed ahead: 1) holding industry contractually accountable for meeting energy targets and system efficiency requirements, 2) sailing a Great Green Fleet composed of nuclear ships, surface combatants equipped with hybrid electric alternative power systems running biofuel, and aircraft flying only biofuels by 2016, 3) reducing petroleum use by 50 percent by 2015, 4) producing at least half of shore-based energy requirements on Navy installations from alternative sources by 2020, and 5) ensuring half of the Navy's total energy consumption for ships, aircraft, tanks, vehicles, and shore installations will come from alternative sources by 2020.

Alternative Fuels

Mike McGehee of the Air Force focused on the Department's work on alternative fuels. The Air Force has spent $54 million on the testing and certification of biomass and synthetic fuels for their over 5,000 airframes, with a goal to cost-competitively purchase 50% of domestic aviation fuel via "greener" alternative fuel blend by 2016.

Vice Admiral Alan Thompson, director of the Defense Logistics Agency, DoD's largest logistics combat support agency, chimed in stating that DLA is working with the services on alternative fuels and saw DoD as a "critical enabler to move DoD forward." He also reflected on a recent visit to Iraq where his organization is key to the drawdown of U.S. military activity. Adm. Thompson said that through their environmental stewardship they are returning occupied areas "much better than found."

An "Idea"

The keynote speaker, Dr. Dorothy Robyn, the deputy undersecretary of defense for installations & environment, provided the most insightful vision for DoD's direction and did not hold back any punches. She said that, while other cabinet level agencies could go green through low-hanging environmental fruit like low flow water fixtures, "what makes DoD unique, these green efforts are not only consistent but required for the mission."

She gave several examples where DoD was not only a good steward protecting federal lands but also allows the military to carry out their training missions without population encroachment, saying "it's in the Department's interest to do this."

But her most astute remarks revolved around her idea, still in its infancy, to leverage the environmental technologies developed from agencies like the Department of Energy and academia and using the DoD's non-homogeneous facilities to be a test bed for environmental solutions, which can be transfer to national solutions.

Can I get a copy of my SF-50 from the Office of Personnel Management?

Bureaupat — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:02:00 GMT

Dear Bureaupat,

I live in Washington, D.C. Can I just go to the Office of Personnel Management to get a copy of my SF-50?

Dear Local,

Wow, the questions about the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, just keep on rollin' in. Unfortunately, this is one situation were living in Washington, D.C. — home of the federal government and one seriously underperforming NFL team — provides absolutely no benefit.

While the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) manages the civil service of the federal government, including the policies, procedures and development of the SF-50, OPM itself is not a short- or long-term repository for your file.

If you are currently a federal employee, the best place to get a copy of your Official Personnel Folder (OPF), which includes your SF-50, is your agency's Human Resources office.

If you are a recent retiree or job-changer and left federal employment within the last 90 days, you may be able to request a copy from the HR office at your previous agency.

But in situations where the fine folks at HR are unable to help, you may request a copy of your SF-50, a complete copy of your OPF, or certain other forms by writing to:

National Personnel Records Center
111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis, MO 63118-4126

It is important to note that The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC 552a) stipulates that requests for information from federal records be signed and dated and in writing. That's right: only written requests for records may be made. No calls, emails, or faxes regarding personnel records will be accepted. And pleading "But Bureaupat said you'd help" won't work either. Trust me, I've tried that one myself. Good luck!

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

Read More Q&A from Bureaupat:

[+] Can the new GI Bill be used for graduate education?

[+] What is the federal Career Development Program (CDP)?

[+] Are congressional staffers covered under federal government pay plans?

The DOJ would like your credit card information... and for you to shut up

Alex Salta — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:33:00 GMT

It can be a thin line between legitimate concerns over the government's role in questions of privacy and free speech, and overheated hallucinations of Big Brother monitoring everything we read and discuss. A recent subpoena issued by the Department of Justice seems to drift out of the realm of the former and into the murkier waters of the latter, and some people are not happy.

Declan McCullagh of CBS News' Taking Liberties blog recently reported that in June of 2008 Kristina Clair, a systems administrator for independent news aggregator Indymedia.us was served with a federal subpoena demanding the website provide DOJ with "all IP traffic to and from www.indymedia.us [including] IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information" regarding the site's visitors.

But that wasn't all the federal subpoena demanded. It also instructed Clair "not to disclose the existence of this request unless authorized by the Assistant U.S. Attorney."

So not only was Clair being told by the Department of Justice to disclose sensitive information for an unknown reason, she was being told not to mention this to anyone...including an attorney. Well that sounds like a fun interpretation of the Constitution!

A confused Clair reached out to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital industry legal advocacy group, for advice on how to deal with the DOJ's unexpected demand. "Not only was this request a plain violation of federal privacy law," EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston told FoxNews.com, "not only did it threaten the First Amendment right to read anonymously of all of Indymedia's users, it also violated Ms. Clair's First Amendment rights by ordering her not to disclose the subpoena's existence."

The EFF sent a letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney Doris L. Pryor on February 13 detailing some of the concerns listed by Bankston. "On February 24, I received a voicemail from Ms. Pryor in response to my letter," Bankston told Fox News. "In that message, Ms. Pryor said that I was correct that the subpoena did not compel Ms. Clair's silence, but that she would be seeking a court order, as she would confirm in a letter later that day."

The subpoena was almost immediately withdrawn by U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison with little explanation. Apparently this wasn't the end of the saga. According to McCullagh's story, Assistant U.S. Attorney's in Morrison's office reiterated to the EFF that if Clair were to tell anyone about the subpoena she could face prosecution for obstruction of justice, and that such a disclosure "may endanger someone's health" and "would have a human cost."

Those seem like the types of veiled threats of physical harm you would more likely hear from a disgruntled Tea Bagger than an Assistant U.S. Attorney, but if nothing else it is nice to see that the market on threats hasn't been cornered by the faux populists among us.

Lucy Daglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press suggested in an interview with CBS News that the legitimacy of the DOJ's actions is questionable at best. "I have seen any number of these things withdrawn when counsel for someone who is claiming a reporter's privilege says, ‘Can you tell me the date you got approval from the attorney general's office,'" she told McCullagh. "I'm willing to chalk this up to bad lawyering on the part of the DOJ, or just not thinking."

According to Fox News, an anonymous source claims that neither Attorney General Eric Holder nor former Deputy Attorney General/Acting Attorney General Mark Filip ever received or signed off on Morrison's subpoena. Such a signature is required by law. It is not clear if an internal DOJ investigation has been launched regarding this allegation.

The Department of Justice's press office seems to be in deflection mode when it comes to taking the blame for this cute little publicity nightmare. "The U.S. Attorney's office of Indiana South issued the subpoena and it's a grand jury investigation," spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz told Fox News. "[Morrison's office] are the one's giving comment. Unfortunately, [The DOJ] can't comment on grand jury deliberations."

The Department of Justice has gained a reputation in recent years for being a hothouse for wacky federal antics. From former Attorney General John Ashcroft's career as an amateur art critic to the notorious U.S. Attorney firings, the DOJ has been no stranger to controversy. This recent case isn't likely to help clean up the department's image. Then again maybe we should just stop talking about this; after all we wouldn't want to put anyone's health in jeopardy.

A typeface to save the planet: Ecofont

Timothy Page — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:44:00 GMT

The Dutch have always been innovators in graphic design and mindful of their environment, living in a below-sea-level country as they do. A new “holey” font that seeks to reduce wasteful printing is the latest product to merge these two worlds.

Introducing Ecofont, your average old Arial typeface tweaked in such a way that can reduce ink use by 20 percent. Designed by the Dutch marketing and communications agency Spranq, the idea sprang from agency cofounder Colin Willems, who witnessed massive amounts of ink wasted every day in the mundane printing habits of office workers everywhere.

Available for Windows, MAC, and Linux operating systems, the font incorporates tiny holes in the letters to not only retain the visual aspect, but to help reduce the ink used with your day-to-day printing.

According to a 2009 report on government printing released by Lexmark and O’Keefe & Company, the U.S. Government alone spends $1.3 billion dollars printing every year, and almost a third, $440 million, is complete waste. Federal workers print 30 pages every work day on average, 92% of them admitting they print more than they need.

If people are paying attention to this sort of thing at all (and most aren’t), they typically combat excessive ink use by printing in draft mode or using smaller type. These help reduce overall output and consume less ink. But most office workers don’t have any thoughts or time to spare for considering the environmental impact of ink as they race to meet a deadline.

Here’s where Ecofont has some promise. The font can be downloaded for free, dropped into your computer’s font folder, set as the default, and bam! Less wasteful printing every time, without having to fuss with anything.

While some critics have considered this “green” font the greatest thing since Swiss cheese, the battle for simplistic ingenuity did not come quick. For months, designers pounded pots of coffee and arranged letters in all sorts of ways to help reduce ink consumption. Some of those failures include using partial letters to save ink, or using a zebra-like pattern in the font to cut out unnecessary inking.

Spranq co-founder Gerjon Zomer said that the light bulb went off when designers realized that it is necessary to preserve the size and outline of letters to keep them readable. Much like a kitchen knife with holes in it keep down weight without hampering its slicing performance, Ecofont does the same for typography and ink consumption.

This reporter decided that the only true way to write about this font was to write in it. After downloading Ecofont from the website, I was typing away in a euphoria of “green happiness,” and for the time being, wasting even more ink by printing out documents in both Arial and the new font to compare the differences.

Depending on your software, Ecofont holds its own when displayed, much like draft mode and other ink conserving methods. However, Gerjon Zomer himself will tell you that the font isn’t beautiful, but it is adequate enough for personal use or internal use at a company. Their main goal: to incorporate the font in business spending.

“We’re working hard on launching Ecofont Professional, but we’ve already received over a hundred requests from government agencies and NGOs all over the world,” Zomer told OhMyGov. “The Ecofont free version is used by such organizations, but due to the fact we believe it’s not suited for use in organizations we don’t keep record of this.”

The Ecofont is based off of the sans-serif font family Verdana, a popular web font that’s similar to the ubiquitous Arial and used widely in the business field. A little more time is needed to polish off a truly professional look for primetime. Currently the company is inviting developers to help improve the design.

Apart from English, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese versions, Arabic and Hebrew versions are currently under development.

Download Ecofont here.

Are congressional staffers covered under federal government pay plans?

Bureaupat — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:30:00 GMT

Dear Bureaupat,

I'm considering moving up in government. That is, up to Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer. Can you tell me whether or not congressional staffers are covered by a federal government pay plan?

Dear Hill-Bound,

Moving from the halls of the federal bureaucracy to the home of Congress beneath the Capitol dome is quite a move indeed. Though all part of the federal government, there are some key ways the jobs are different, including on the pay and benefits side.

While federal government employees are covered by a number of different pay systems, some established by individual laws, some by administrative determination, none of these will apply to you. Your salary will be determined by the member of Congress you work for and you'll be at the mercy of his or her budget.

Congressional staffer salary can vary widely. There are caps too. In 2009, the maximum salary for a staffer for a member's personal office was $168,411. Committee staffers, in certain instances, are eligible for a slightly higher salary.

While that sounds good, only a few aides are paid at the cap. Many junior-level staffers make an embarrassingly paltry sum, for office jobs that can have a brutal intensity to them. This includes working for the sometimes wild and crazy personalities of the elected. And... all this in the expensive city of Washington, D.C.

Unlike their federal counterparts who are free to go home at the end of the day, when Congress is in session, Congressional staffers often work well into the night, sometimes into the early morning, to craft legislation or to broker deals with the administration. Not the typical day of a fed, but due to their prestige, competition for congressional jobs is fierce.

On the bright side, there is a potential pay-off. Many experienced congressional staffers leave the public sector to find jobs in the private sector making many times what they make in Congress.

Of course, their value in the private sector is sometimes enhanced not by their skills but by the personal connections they make while working for Congress.

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

Read More Q&A from Bureaupat:

[+] Can the new GI Bill be used for graduate education?

[+] What is the federal Career Development Program (CDP)?

[+] What will my new grade and step be for my government promotion?

Gallup poll suggests agency leaders should focus on branding

Richard Hartman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:01:00 GMT

A recent Gallup survey of nearly 42,000 Americans conducted to examine public attitudes about the "overall customer experience" across all federal agencies found that Americans are generally not satisfied with the performance of government agencies, save for the military.

Nearly half of Americans polled viewed federal agencies neutrally (46 percent), with significantly more negative views (34 percent) than positive ones (20 percent).

By stark contrast, the military fared well in the poll, as 78 percent expressed positive views of its performance.

Interestingly, the highest rated agency was the National Park Service with a 90 percent satisfaction rating. Perhaps fresh air really is the key to success.

Of special mention, the Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, and Health and Human Services Department were among those ranked lowest in customer satisfaction, although HHS and the Social Security Administration were seen having the greatest potential impact on the daily lives of those polled.

When asked which agency is most important to the future of the country, the Department of Defense (DoD) stood out again with the Department of Education a close second. Surprisingly the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Agriculture were tied for the lowest rating.

A Little Branding Goes a Long Way

According to the survey, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was viewed as the employer of choice, that is, the agency they would most want to work for. A far cry from the EPA who took another last place seat. Clearly the mystique of covert activities like those seen on "Splinter Cell" video games or the action hero's like Vince Flynn novels featuring Mitch Rapp have better appeal than the perceived bureaucrat pushing a piece of paper or gathering an environmental sample, which leads to the survey's golden nugget: branding and image building.

The survey identified an opportunity for the federal agencies to build a positive brand image in the eyes of Americans. Not that a survey was needed, since government blunders like Hurricane Katrina, the Challenger, and most recently the deployment of the H1N1 vaccine remain in the forethoughts of most Americans. But the survey does provide empirical evidence for agency leadership to understand the necessity to brand and market their agencies, especially as government is trying to recruit and retain talent.

While the survey found awareness of most agencies was high, it did not equate to a positive brand or a differentiation between agencies. Given the importance of public perceptions and their impact on brand image, this may be one of the more insightful pieces of information to gleam from the study. Unfortunately, government leaders typically do not see the merit in branding themselves as Coke, Budweiser, or other notable brands like Google, beyond their annual request to convince Congress for their share of limited government funds during appropriations hearings.

Limited Interaction With Agencies Confounds Results

Interestingly, the survey reveled that most interactions with the federal government were either to visit a national park, monument, or historic landmark, or to pass through a border checkpoint, customs control, or airport security. This lack of direct interaction with the vast majority of other government agencies we depend on daily also makes the case for agency investment in branding to make the public aware of the other two million federal employees (including USPS) and the importance of their services.

In measuring satisfaction through direct interaction with agency, Gallop looked at measures such as, delivering on promises, treating people with respect, and providing accurate information. They also looked at transactional assessments, such as the time it takes to get a response, the ability to connect with a live person, problem resolution, availability, treatment, and follow through.

So what's the take home message of all this?

The government needs to find better ways to measure performance, improve customer service and do a better job of marketing and branding.

Can the new GI Bill be used for graduate education?

Bureaupat — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:33:00 GMT

Dear Bureaupat,

I earned a Masters in Aerospace Administration in 2004 and retired from active duty as a USAF Master Sergent in 2005. Would the new post-9/11 GI Bill allow me to apply for a second graduate degree or a doctorate in education?

Dear Graduate,

The new Post-9/11 GI Bill is complex (what isn't these days!), so I'm half-expecting to earn a minor in GI Bill Advising with all the questions I'll be answering.

You'll be happy to read that approved training under the Post-9/11 GI Bill includes graduate school, but reimbursement is based on undergraduate tuition rates.

The maximum basic benefit provides the following:

Cost of tuition and fees, not to exceed the most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher learning in the state you are attending school
Monthly housing allowance equal to the basic allowance for housing payable to an E-5 with dependents, in the same zip code as the school
Yearly books and supplies stipend of up to $1,000 per year

You'll earn the maximum basic benefit after serving an aggregate of 36 months of active duty service, or after 30 days of continuous service if you were discharged for a service-connected disability. If you've served between 90 days and 36 months of aggregate active duty service, you will be eligible for a percentage of the maximum benefit.

For those who don't meet the requirements for 100% benefits, the percentage level starts at 40% of the basic benefit for those whose service is between 90 days and 6 months, and rises in increments up to 90% for those who served between 30 and 36 months.

The following chart represents the maximum percentage payable based on the length of an individual's aggregate active duty service:

All training programs must be offered by a degree-granting institution of higher learning and approved for GI Bill benefits. Additionally, tutorial assistance and reimbursement for one licensing or certification test reimbursement are available under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

NOTE: Individuals who are eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill as well as other GI Bill benefits will be required to make an irrevocable choice of which benefit to receive. Individuals previously eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty (MGIB-AD, Chapter 30), Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR, Chapter 1606), or the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP, Chapter 1607) may continue to receive benefits for approved programs not offered by degree-granting institutions. These programs include flight, correspondence, apprenticeship/on-the-job training, preparatory courses, and national tests. Individuals in these programs will be paid as if they are still receiving benefits under Chapters 30, 1606, and 1607.

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

Read More Q&A from Bureaupat:

[+] What is the federal Career Development Program (CDP)?

[+] What will my new grade and step be for my government promotion?

[+] What is the deadline for holiday mail to service members?

Gov developing product recall database for consumers

Lauren Reisig — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:28:00 GMT

Many Americans are familiar with the lead toy fiasco, but with the thousands of product recalls of late, it is nearly impossible to keep track of every product deemed a threat to the health and safety of consumers. Citizens were rightfully concerned, and the federal government responded with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008.

In accordance with Section 212 of the act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is developing a publicly accessible, searchable online database of consumer product incident reports. This website, tentatively named SaferProducts.gov, will allow consumers to report on and search for product incidents and recalls, in order to increase consumer awareness and safety.

CPSC has two objectives for this website: to protect and inform the public, and to improve CPSC's ability to identify risks and respond quickly. CPSC recently released a report (pdf) to Congress detailing its plans to achieve these goals. The report includes information on the development status of the website, outlining the proposed content and functionality of the site, as well as focusing on efforts to improve public awareness through the website.

CPSC held a public hearing on November 10 to receive views on Section 212, but a transcript of the hearing has yet to be released.

Government asks millions to repay tax credits... really

Evan Morier — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:26:00 GMT

The tax credits passed in the stimulus package were implemented through reduced payroll deductions, giving some workers more money than they are eligible for. Retirees, some married couples, and people with two jobs are among the groups who may have to pay some of their credits back on tax day.

Power to the connectors in today's workplace

Evan Morier — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:09:00 GMT

An article by Harvard Business Publishing argues that having numerous contacts is more important to achieving results in business than a hierachical organization structure. A connector is someone with a large base of social capital who uses it to share and learn information.

But is the same true for the federal government? Or is a hierarchical bureaucracy necessary to achieving success?

Congress mulls plan to create civil service ROTC equivalent

Evan Morier — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:51:00 GMT

Upcoming legislation in the Senate would give university students generous scholarships in return for a commitment to work for the federal government after graduation.

The success of the ROTC program in recruiting qualified students to the armed forces is seen as a good model for attracting talent to the public sector.

Event Watch: Cloud Computing Shoot Out in D.C.

Evan Morier — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:35:00 GMT

FedScoop! is hosting a Cloud Computing Shoot Out at the Newseum in D.C., December 8th from 8 AM to 11 AM.

Federal CIO Vivek Kundra will be on hand to discuss cloud applications for government and identify those who have successfully implemented them. The event is free for federal employees, who can register here.

Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner

Andrew B. Einhorn — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:36:00 GMT

Hat Tip: Max

DARPA Sends the Nation Looking For Balloons

Edmund Adam Zagorin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:06:00 GMT

No, it's not what you think... "Balloon Boy" has not come untethered from his wacko parents again. Rather the mad scientists over at the Pentagon have cooked up a fun balloon-related puzzle.

Teams of networkers of all walks and stripes across the country are eagerly gearing up for sunrise on December 5 this year, when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to host a contest that challenges participants to locate the coordinates of ten 8-foot weather balloons moored in locations across the continental United States. The challenge is timed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet, which began in the Agency as ARPANET, and the winning team will be awarded a cool $40,000 for their efforts.

The contiguous United States, or as Sarah Palin might say, "the lower 48" is an area comprised of well over three million square miles and all manner of terrain, from the Florida everglades to the Rocky mountains. Large swaths of this vast territory are either minimally inhabited or remain as complete wilderness, frequented only by the occasional cattle herd put out to graze or logging company extracting timber. Certainly, given these factors, and the fact that teams are only given the feeble daylight hours of one winter's day and recognizing the limitations of electric and broadband access, it seems that DARPA has given the American networkers a labor of Herculean implausibility.

However, DARPA officials are optimistic. The recent history of network-projects or so-called ‘cloud computing' have demonstrated the previously unprecedented ability for group collaboration to realize, such as the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC), which allows users to donate their personal computers' processing capacity to projects in diverse research areas such as mathematics, medicine, astrophysics and climatology.

As Dr. Regina Dugan puts it, "The DARPA Network Challenge explores the unprecedented ability of the Internet to bring people together to solve tough problems." Presumably DARPA game-masters won't make it too tough for competing teams, as part of the goal of the challenge from DARPA's perspective will be to see self-organized and spontaneously networked problem-solving in action. There are some possible snafus in the set-up however, ranging from balloons becoming unmoored or purposefully popped by vandals to pranksters setting up fake balloons or spreading flooding competing groups with false coordinates.

Certainly, it will be interesting to see what strategies network teams use to gather information, but those in it for the money or fame probably shouldn't be holding their breath. Larry King's already done enough balloon stories for one year.

Innovative snow control program should be more successful

Andrew B. Einhorn — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:28:00 GMT

An innovative snow-control program in Minnesota has demonstrated just how cool government can be. By paying landowners to grow crops along the highway that function as snow barriers, the state government has realized a 1700 percent return on their investment.

In 2001, the Minnesota Department of Transportation started paying landowners to grow trees, crops, shrubs, and grasses along the sides of major highways. The plants prevent snow drifts from landing in the roadways, a common occurrence that requires more plowing and potentially increases the chances of accidents and flooding.

Of course, there's a caveat. Failed marketing efforts have left the vast majority of roads that could be protected under this program unprotected. It seems the government hasn't been able to get the word out to the landowners in order to get full buy in into the program. To combat this trend, the state is unveiling a new study to help them identify opportunities for improvement, but one has to wonder how many years it takes to get in touch with a small group of people. If the state IRS can reach them to take their money; why can't the government reach them to give them money?

Proposed rule aimed at contractor conflicts of interest

Richard Hartman — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:58:00 GMT

Last Friday, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) proposed a new rule in the Federal Register to prevent personal conflicts of interest by contractors performing acquisition functions.

For those who thought that only federal employees conduct federal contracting and acquisitions, don't be fooled by the civilian attire. In many cases, it's a contractor working in hard-to-fill federal contracting and acquisition positions within the federal government. And while they can't represent the government or make decisions, many are concerned by the amount of information to which they have access.

To prevent potential insider influence, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2009, section 841(a), requires that the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) develop regulatory guidance, including a new subpart under FAR part 3, and a new clause for contracting officers to use in contracts to prevent personal conflicts of interest for contractor employees performing acquisition functions for or on behalf of a Federal agency or department. It also requires a personal conflicts-of-interest clause(s) for inclusion in solicitations, contracts, task orders, and delivery orders.

The problem of little to no government oversight, however, continues. The burden for enforcing the rule is placed almost exclusively on the contractor, according to the proposed rule.

Specifically, the proposed rule states, "It is Government policy to require contractors to: (a) Identify and prevent personal conflicts of interest of their covered employees; and (b) Prohibit covered employees who have access to non-public Government information from using such information for personal gain."

Not only would the contacting company need to identify personal conflicts and prevent them, but the company would also be required to inform covered employees of their duty to disclose and prevent "even the appearance of personal conflicts of interest."

To enforce the rule, it would be necessary for the contractor to annually obtain, maintain and update financial disclosure statements from each covered employee assigned to a task under the contract.

It also appears that the requirement to prohibit the use of "nonpublic government information" for personal gain may be difficult to enforce.

Regardless, contractors that do not comply with the rule would face possible loss of payments or award fees, contract termination, suspension or debarment.

However, the rule is not final until the fat government lady sings. Comments on the rule are due by Jan. 12, 2010.

iPhone app lets you take bloodthirsty revenge on bankers

Alex Salta — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:34:00 GMT

Violent video games have long been a favorite sacrificial lamb for everyone from parents concerned with their children's delicate sensibilities to politicians concerned with getting some good face time. CGI-generated carnage has been blamed for everything from the short attention spans of today's youth to some of the more horrific incidents of recent years. With the recent emergence of a popular iPhone application called "Bailout Wars," we can now employ the Nintendo defense if someone decides to go after Jamie Dimon with a machete.

A recent story on the Huffington Post details the application in which users are encouraged to "defend the White House and save the US taxpayers' money before it gets stolen! It's time for you to give them what they deserve! [...] It's your only chance to really take revenge on bankers for the recession they caused [...] Explore many different ways to beat bankers: tap, grab, or shake them in the air."

Of course even with an application as popular as Bailout Wars, which has been given a five-star rating by 219 out of 492 users, there inevitably are flaws and bugs that need to be worked out. Thankfully the fine folks at American Banker's BankThink blog took the time to detail some of the more constructive criticism levied by concerned players. For instance Gamereviewer.com feels that players "should be able to attack the bank's bank and confiscate CEO's private jets to recoup money!" Meanwhile a user going by the handle "roachkotchou" decides to make their suggestion short and to the point, "You should make CEO's easier to kill." Well, that sure was direct.

If Lloyd Blankfein and Vikram Pandit are reading this please allow us a quick word of advice, you might want to think about changing your locks.

The game's publisher, the Paris-based Gameloft, is something of a quiet heavyweight in the gaming industry. They may not be a household name, but the company is behind some of the most successful franchises in video game history, from Chessmaster to The Oregon Trail to the wildly successful Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six franchise.

Now that the TARP has finally been tackled in video game form, what can be next? Should we be getting ready for Public Option Warfare or Cap and Trade Cagematch '09? No one is saying staying home on a Friday night to work out your government fueled aggression on a poor defenseless iPhone doesn't sound like a good time, just that it might be a good idea to switch to decaf beforehand.

Can Bailout Wars be far behind games like Call of Duty as the next big thing? Well...no probably not. But hey, if a game about broken wagon wheels and dysentery can become a cultural touchstone it would appear that anything is possible.

What is the federal Career Development Program (CDP)?

Bureaupat — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:10:00 GMT

Dear Bureaupat,

I am a GS-14 and I have a federal government mentor who is a career member of the Senior Executive Service. He has recommend that I apply for a Career Development Program (CDP). Can you enlighten me on this program and why I should or should not apply?

Dear Governmentee,

Count yourself lucky to have a formal mentor: you are one of the few. Now, get ready for an onslaught of government acronyms in the answer!

Currently there are only two modes of entry into the Senior Executive Service (SES):

Apply directly to a Federal agency for a specific SES position
Apply for a Federal Agency's SES Candidate Development Program (SESCDP). Qualifications Review Board (QRB) certified graduates of an SESCDP advertised to "all qualified Civil Service appointees" or "all qualified persons" are eligible for (but not guaranteed) career appointment to an SES position without further competition.

Clearly your mentor sees you as a future leader within government and his suggestion is right on target to fast pace you into the SES.

The Federal Candidate Development Program (Fed CDP) was designed to help Federal agencies meet their succession planning goals and contribute to the Government's effort to create a high-quality SES leadership corps.

It is specifically designed to provide a series of developmental experiences for high potential individuals to prepare them to compete for positions in the Senior Executive Service. These developmental experiences typically include formal training and seminars, a four-month assignment outside of the participant's bureau or agency, an executive mentor, action learning projects, coaching, field trips,a Capitol Hill orientation training session, and many other engaging activities.

Participants who are selected are expected to be self-starters and highly-motivated individuals who, through their experience and training, demonstrate the potential to grow into an executive leadership role. The CDP is a demanding program, and the curriculum must be completed while balancing current day-to-day job assignments.

But it's not that easy. Some, but not all, Federal agencies have SES Candidate Development Programs to identify and develop potential executive talent. Hopefully your agency has a program that's approved by the Office of Personnel Management.

Once you've found a program you must then apply and make it through the selection process which typically, includes, three parts: rating applications, interviews, and an independent assessment process leading to final selection.

Once selected, the CDP concentrates on developing candidates' skills in the following OPM Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs):

Leading Change
Leading People
Results Driven
Business Acumen
Building Coalitions

Recently, the Department of Commerce announced applications for its Class of 2011 Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program (SESCDP), an 18-month leadership development training program for high potential employees.

People who complete the program and obtain certification by an SES Qualifications Review Board (QRB) of OPM approved SESCDPs advertised to "all qualified civil service appointees" or "all qualified persons" are eligible for a career appointment to the SES without further competition. However, graduates are not guaranteed a SES position.

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

Read More Q&A from Bureaupat:

[+] What will my new grade and step be for my government promotion?

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10 Rules for being a good government Twitterer

Jenifer Reinhardt — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:50:00 GMT

Since Twitter evolved from obscurity to media obsession (yes, we see the irony in that comment), an entire new economy has launched around the platform, including social media consultants offering advice on the best way for organizations to conduct themselves on this new social medium. The advice, called everything from twitter manners to twitterquette, provides at the very least some puzzling new words and fodder for punchlines. But how to behave amidst the deep crevasses of the twitterverse is far more important than learning all the vernacular.

Two federal agencies provide an excellent example of what to do and what not to do with promotional twittering. NASA (@MarsPhoenixhas) had great success with Tweeting about the Mars rover which toured the surface of Mars, sending back never-before-seen images from deep space. "By writing in the first person and being cute, followers were treated to what seemed like a firsthand perspective of what was going on with the successful Rover," said Ethan Klapper of socialgovernment.com, a blog devoted to covering Gov 2.0.

In the what not to do category, we have the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Since the USCBP feeds its regular news briefs onto Twitter, there is little reason to visit the handle over the website. "Hands down, the worst government Twitter account I've seen," said Klapper.

Of course, if the goal is to put information out there in various forms, the agency meets the requirement. What they don't meet, is the desire for followers on Twitter to be interested, entertained and informed; the killer combo every media organization aims for that few organizations master.

These days, every company and federal agency is devising or has devised its own rules on using Twitter, especially while on the job. In some cases, employees are required to sign contracts giving the organization rights over all creative output, to include twittering from your cell phone. Most people are familiar with the dangers of using a company computer for personal business, but it may not have occurred to them that their tweets might also be within earshot.

On the other hand, using Twitter in a manner that benefits organizations is something that many are encouraging. A number of federal agencies and businesses are taking advantage of this social media tool to get their information to the public in a hip and cutting-edge way, giving them access to a demographic they may otherwise not reach. When used well, Twitter can offer an agency or company that personal touch not available through a Web design and the ability to develop a personality to help branding efforts.

Branding. That's not a word most federal employees use, but that's not to say it isn't important for feds. Think about your views on NASA. Now consider how you perceive FEMA. Despite both having very publicized debacles, their brands are quite different and the power of NASA's brand allows them to continue retain public support even in the midst of incredible tragedy and failure. The same cannot be said about FEMA and part of the reason is the manner in which these agencies regularly communicate with the public, one aspect of which now, like it or not, involves Twitter.

To aid in navigating this new social media terrain, OhMyGov! has brought you the following tips, gratis.

1. Always know what your organization's rules are. If you aren't sure of the rules, or they are unclear, speak to your supervisor or human resources office to clarify. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

2. Everything you do online leaves a record. While it may be common sense to some, it's best to tweet your buddy about the football game while you're having a discussion with your boss about your last accounting error. These things do have a very traceable time stamp and can now be searched by other in real time.

3. Be very open about who you are, who you work for, and why you are on Twitter. A simple disclaimer saying that you work for the National Park Service but are twittering because you want to share your thoughts on "Dancing with the Stars," will provide you with a good cover at work and draw the kind of followers that you're actually looking for.

4. Remember someone reads these things. So always try to be as personable as you can when you tweet. Nobody likes automated responses or lazy self-promotion. This is equally true if you are a federal agency. In the case of NASA, a program that requires high public satisfaction to stay in business, they have found a way to tweet that makes you feel like you're a friend. In the case of USCBP, they make you feel like you're a bulletin board that just got a paper pinned to it.

5. FGS, try and keep the grammar correct and the acronyms limited. There exists an ongoing debate as to whether texting and tweeting are undoing the English language as we once knew it. To avoid fanning the flames, keep your messages plain and simple. Your followers will appreciate it if they have some idea of what you're talking about. This is especially true if you are tweeting on behalf of an organization.

6. Be courteous. This is not about please and thank you's. On Twitter, courtesy means giving proper citation (@ohmygov) if you lift a quote or idea from someone else, or by simply retweeting it (relaying what one person says to your audience). And if someone sends you a direct message, the respectful thing to do is reply, even if the reply contains a template message.

7. Exercise Discretion. Don't tweet about your boss and your co-workers; don't say things that you don't want everyone to know; and don't tweet while under the influence.

8. Mix it up. Don't just post the same titles to your already boring federal press release. Provide a fact from that press release with a link to the actual document instead. You have a new audience on Twitter; act like it. Feed them different information. You'll be surprised just how far a factoid can travel. When we tweeted that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook was women 54-79, it was retweeted 15 times within three minutes quoting OhMyGov! as the information source. In those three minutes, we reached an audience of approximately 60,000 people.

9. Less is more. We can't emphasize this enough. Even at 140 characters or less it is tough to keep up with all of the information out there. So send out only the most important information -- the stuff you really want people to know and think they would find interesting. Bombarding people with tweets every 15 seconds is a surefire way to turn them off, unless you are a celebrity and they have already developed an unhealthy obsession with you. In a crisis situation, less is still more as it ensures people follow the right advice and are not confused.

10. Benchmark. Don't just take our advice; get out there and see what other people are saying. Use Twitter Search to find them and ask them through Twitter about what they have learned. It is a great medium for communicating, so make the most of it!

What will my new grade and step be for my government promotion?

Bureaupat — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:11:00 GMT

Dear BureauPat,

I am a GS 14 with permanent status. If I apply for another government job in a different agency which is advertised as GS 15, what will my new step level be if I'm selected for the new position?

Dear Promotion Seeker,

During these economic times, we all need and want the extra cash, but don't forget that when seeking more responsibility you also get more accountability, so hopefully the boost in pay will be commensurate.

Since I don't know your current General Schedule (GS) pay step and duty location, I'll run through two different scenarios, since there is a government-wide rule which applies to promotion within the GS.

The basic rule is that you take the current Grade and step and increase the step two levels and compare to the new grade.

For example, if you are GS 14 Step 1 which currently has a 2009 base salary of $83,445 (not including locality pay), add two steps. This puts you as a GS 14 Step 3 with a base salary of $89,009. Next you compare that salary to the new GS-15 grade which starts off at $98,156. Since GS 14 Step 3 base salary is below the GS 15 step 1, your promotion would bring you in as a GS 15 Step 1, a $14,711 pay increase. Nice raise!

Let's say you're a seasoned GS 14 step 6 with a 2009 base pay of $97,335. Using the same procedure you add two steps. This puts you as a GS 14 Step 8 with a base salary of $102,919. Next compare that salary to the GS-15 table which puts you between GS 15 step 2 and GS 15 Step 3. We always round up in government so your promotion grade and step would be GS 15 Step 3 with a base salary of $104,428, a $7,093 pay increase. Not so bad!

Again, remember your promotion not only provides additional pay but additional responsibility and more importantly increased accountability. So, you may want to think twice... after all a GS-14 is a pretty cushy place to be!

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

Read More Q&A from Bureaupat:

[+] What is the deadline for holiday mail to service members?

[+] What is the Senior Executive Service (SES)?

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