Kevin Moss, Consumers' Checkbook senior editor, explains how federal employees can avoid huge increases in their healthcare costs in fiscal 2025.

The post Choose wisely: Not all healthcare premiums are increasing first appeared on Federal News Network.

OPM’s final regulations for the Postal Service Health Benefits program locked in rules on Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage for USPS annuitants.

The post How Medicare Part D will work in upcoming USPS insurance program first appeared on Federal News Network.

The United States and the Philippines have announced plans to expand America's military presence in the Southeast Asian nation, with access to four more bases as they seek to deter China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea. The agreement was reached as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the country for talks about deploying U.S. forces and weapons in more Philippine military camps. In a joint announcement Thursday by the Philippines and the U.S., the two said they had decided to accelerate the full implementation of their so-called Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which aims to support combined training, exercises and interoperability.

The post US, Philippines agree to larger American military presence first appeared on Federal News Network.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is suddenly confronting a new threat to his power. Angry hard-right conservatives have brought the House chamber to a halt, reviving their displeasure over the debt ceiling deal struck with President Joe Biden. McCarthy brushed off the disruption as healthy political debate — not too different from the 15-vote spectacle it took in January for him to finally convince his colleagues to elect him as speaker. But it's a foreshadowing of the next budget fight as Congress tries to fund the government at the levels agreed to, or risk a federal shutdown in fall.

The post GOP conservatives shutter House to protest McCarthy-Biden debt deal, setting up next budget brawl first appeared on Federal News Network.

The U.S. is sending additional fighter jets and a warship to the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to increase security in the wake of Iranian attempts to seize commercial ships there. The Pentagon says the USS Thomas Hudner, a destroyer, and a number of F-35 fighter jets will be heading to the region. Defense officials last week announced the deployment of F-16s to the area over the past weekend and there have been A-10 attack aircraft there for nearly two weeks in response to the Iranian activity. The latest deployments come after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait early this month, opening fire on one of them.

The post US sending fighter jets, warship to Gulf region to protect ships from Iranian seizures first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Biden administration has approved a new $500 million arms sale to Taiwan as it ramps up military assistance to the island despite fervent objections from China. The State Department said Wednesday it had signed off on the sale of infrared search tracking systems along with related equipment for advanced F-16 fighter jets. Although the deal is modest in comparison to previous weapons sales, the move is likely to draw fierce criticism from Beijing, which regards self-governing Taiwan as a renegade province and refuses to rule out the use of force to reunify it with the mainland. The announcement came just hours after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen renewed a pledge to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense as she visited a war memorial from the last time Taiwan and China battled.

The post US approves new $500M arms sale to Taiwan as tension from China intensifies first appeared on Federal News Network.

After weeks of testing, an electronic system for filing returns directly to the IRS is now available for taxpayers from 12 selected states.

The post The IRS launches Direct File, a pilot program for free online tax filing available in 12 states first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Supreme Court's rejected a conservative-led attack that could've undermined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The post Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, spurning a conservative attack first appeared on Federal News Network.

A Bureau of Land Management preferred alternative for a proposed large-scale wind energy farm in southern Idaho would shrink the size by nearly half.

The post Bureau of Land Management shrinks proposed size of controversial Idaho wind farm project first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Supreme Court has sided with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over controversial social media posts.

The post The Supreme Court rules for Biden administration in a social media dispute with conservative states first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Supreme Court has stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of a major tool in fighting securities fraud.

The post The Supreme Court strips the SEC of a critical enforcement tool in fraud cases first appeared on Federal News Network.

Cordell Schachter, the Transportation Department CIO, said the agency’s DevSecOps capabilities are maturing as part of its digital transformation effort.

The post DoT driving IT modernization to meet enterprise, local needs first appeared on Federal News Network.

Brian Mazanec, the deputy director of the Office of Preparedness in HHS’ ASPR, said they are implementing several initiatives under its year-old strategy.

The post HHS’ ASPR playing ‘quarterback’ for cyber response, resilience first appeared on Federal News Network.

Learn from top government and industry experts how agencies are innovating with data centers and cloud technology.

The post Federal Executive Forum Data Center & Cloud Optimization Strategies in Government Progress and Best Practices 2024 first appeared on Federal News Network.

How are AI/ML strategies evolving to meet tomorrow’s mission?

The post Federal Executive Forum Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Strategies in Government Progress and Best Practices 2024 first appeared on Federal News Network.

What strategies and technology are driving data strategy in government?

The post Federal Executive Forum Chief Data Officers Profiles in Excellence in Government 2024: Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Trends first appeared on Federal News Network.

How are agencies refining their AI strategy?

The post Federal Executive Forum Artificial Intelligence Strategies in Government Progress and Best Practices 2024 first appeared on Federal News Network.

Improving customer experience (CX) is a multi-faceted challenge to tackle as needs vary between stakeholders. How are agencies profiling a successful strategy and what is the vision for the future? During this webinar, you will…

The post Federal Executive Forum Customer Experience Strategies in Government Progress and Best Practices 2024 first appeared on Federal News Network.

How are DoD and DHS profiling a successful cloud computing strategy and what is the vision for the future?

The post Federal Executive Forum Defense and Homeland Cloud Computing in Government Progress and Best Practices 2024 first appeared on Federal News Network.

GSA's Federal Acquisition Service is on the front lines of federal procurement, making the processes easier for acquisition professionals, agencies and vendors.

The post GSA’s FAS streamlining federal procurement by updating GSA Advantage, improving UX, reducing PALT first appeared on Federal News Network.

State wants teams of procurement specialists who not only know the contracting process, but also have deep insights into their respective markets.

The post State Dept transforming procurement with category management, streamlined processes first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Pentagon made some key tweaks to the final CMMC program rule. Several program watchers said the changes should help simplify a complex compliance program.

The post DoD ‘fine tunes’ final CMMC program rule, industry turns attention to implementation first appeared on Federal News Network.

U.S. officials say the number of suicides among military members and their families dipped slightly in 2022, compared with the previous year. This decline comes as the Defense Department tries to build prevention and treatment programs to address what's been a steadily growing problem over the past decade.

The post The number of military suicides dipped in 2022 as the Pentagon works on new prevention programs first appeared on Federal News Network.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has undergone a medical procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and has resumed duty after temporarily transferring power. He is continuing to deal with bladder issues that arose in December following his treatment for prostate cancer. The Pentagon says the procedure Friday was successful, elective and minimally invasive, “is not related to his cancer diagnosis and has had no effect on his excellent cancer prognosis.” Austin has returned home, and the Pentagon says no changes in his official schedule are anticipated, including his participation in Memorial Day events.

The post Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin resumes duty after undergoing procedure at Walter Reed first appeared on Federal News Network.

The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery

The post Congress approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday first appeared on Federal News Network.

President Joe Biden marked Equal Pay Day by spotlighting new steps aimed at closing the gender pay gap for federal workers and contractors

The post Biden urges private companies to help narrow gender pay gap first appeared on Federal News Network.

Prominent demographers are asking the U.S. Census Bureau to abandon a controversial method for protecting survey and census participants’ confidentiality

The post Researchers ask Census to stop controversial privacy method first appeared on Federal News Network.

A months long Federal News Network investigation found the Navy’s new electronic procurement system is facing similar challenges as previous failed efforts.

The post Navy’s journey to new procurement system remains in peril first appeared on Federal News Network.

Along with the new command, the service stood up the Integrated Development Office as part of its sweeping set of plans announced in February.

The post Air Force launches provisional Integrated Capabilities Command first appeared on Federal News Network.

A six-month CR would delay $8.2 billion worth of investments for the Army, limit the Air Force’s ability to fund increases in military pay accounts.

The post Short-term funding delays Army investments, stalls key space programs first appeared on Federal News Network.

John Berlau, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, discusses the Fair Access Rule by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

The post Does banking fairness come at a fair price to consumers? first appeared on Federal News Network.

Congress has ended the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays. The Senate gave final approval to a temporary government funding package Wednesday night and sent it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The bill sets up a final confrontation on the government budget in the new year. The Senate worked into the night to pass the bill with days to spare before government funding expires Saturday. The spending package keeps government funding levels at current levels for roughly two more months while a long-term package is negotiated.

The post Congress approves temporary funding and pushes the fight over the federal budget into the new year first appeared on Federal News Network.

New guidance from lead cybersecurity agencies and industry partners provides both individual developers and large companies with software supply chain security best practices

The post NSA, CISA call on software developers, suppliers to improve open source software management practices first appeared on Federal News Network.

President Joe Biden will nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero to replace Martin Gruenberg as head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The announcement from the White House Thursday came after Gruenberg’s tenure became marred by allegations of workplace abuse that led to him to resign. Goldsmith Romero is currently a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the nation’s financial derivatives regulator. Gruenberg last month said he would resign from the FDIC after an independent report by a law firm found incidents of stalking, harassment, homophobia and other violations of employment regulations, based on more than 500 complaints from employees.

The post Biden to nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero as FDIC chair after abrupt departure of predecessor first appeared on Federal News Network.

President Joe Biden giving up his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris makes her the prohibitive favorite to be nominee in November.

The post Democrats promise an ‘orderly process’ to replace Biden. Harris is favored, but questions remain first appeared on Federal News Network.

Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, faced growing calls to resign.

The post Secret Service director steps down after assassination attempt against ex-President Trump at rally first appeared on Federal News Network.

A chief architect of Project 2025, Russell Vought is likely to be appointed to a high-ranking post in a second Trump administration.

The post Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect, is ready to shock Washington if Trump wins second term first appeared on Federal News Network.

“We're going to be in great shape for the election. I'm pretty confident about everything that were doing,” DeJoy said.

The post Postmaster general is confident about ability to process mail-in ballots first appeared on Federal News Network.

Tim Gribben, the commissioner of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, said the bureau refined and reframed its progress statement for the first time since 2018.

The post Fiscal Service using death data to reduce improper payments first appeared on Federal News Network.

Newer technologies like automation and AI may offer new solutions to this age-old cybersecurity problem, but they can also be double-edged swords.

The post Endpoint proliferation exacerbates old cybersecurity problem: data integration first appeared on Federal News Network.

Embracing a distinction between OSINT and Pro-SINT ensures intelligence collections by those paid for the work are professional, ethical and legally defensible.

The post Open-source intelligence professionalism: Distinguishing ‘OSINT’ from ‘Pro-SINT’ first appeared on Federal News Network.

Reducing the complexity and cost of CUI security is essential to supporting small businesses crucial to defense innovation.

The post CMMC requirements demand innovative approaches to securing CUI first appeared on Federal News Network.

FEDtalk host Jason Briefel, a non-attorney partner and Director of Government and Public Affairs at Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., sits down with Kettle and Eggers to discuss how the government agencies can break free from organizational boxes and rigid, top-down leadership to enact meaningful change.

The post Bridgebuilders – How Government Can Transcend Boundaries to Solve Big Problems first appeared on Federal News Network.

Homegrown, modernized legacy and software as a service applications all benefit from continuous testing for performance and functionality.

The post Continuous code testing ensures enterprise apps keep working first appeared on Federal News Network.

GAO estimates the federal government saw $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2023

The post House Oversight leaders ask GAO to probe ‘root causes’ of federal improper payments first appeared on Federal News Network.

From WEP/GPO repeal to getting a rational long term care insurance program, the work, pay, benefit and federal retirement issues never end.

The post Wow! Federal retirement, and protecting it, mean hard work! first appeared on Federal News Network.

Dana Laake and her special guest Dr. Michael Jurgelewicz will discuss a comprehensive approach to osteoporosis and novel therapeutics.

The post A comprehensive approach to osteoporosis and novel therapeutics first appeared on Federal News Network.

Dana Laake and her special guest Beth Lambert will discuss preventing and reversing chronic health conditions in children.

The post Preventing and Reversing Chronic Health Conditions in Children first appeared on Federal News Network.

Dana Laake and her special guest Dr. Alan Christianson will discuss achieving optimal thyroid health through the thyroid reset program.

The post Achieving Optimal Thyroid Health Through the Thyroid Reset Program first appeared on Federal News Network.

SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to businesses and people affected by disasters. It said earlier this month it expects to soon run out of funding.

The post Small business disaster loan program is out of money until Congress approves new funds first appeared on Federal News Network.