John Kamensky

In 1996, Congress mandated the Defense Department to conduct a “quadrennial defense review” (QDR) of plausible future national security scenarios and to assess the effectiveness of different mixes of resources in addressing these scenarios.  These reviews – looking 15 to 20 years into the future -- are conducted every four years to inform Defense strategic efforts. 

Yes, the federal government launched a shared payroll services operation in 1973 – the National Finance Center – in the Department of Agriculture.  Initially, it served only Agriculture agencies.  Today, it provides payroll services and more for more than 650,000 federal employees in 170 agencies.

John Kamensky

John Kamensky

John Kamensky

New Volcker Alliance Report: What Americans Want from Government.  The Volcker Alliance report, by Dr. Paul Light, says: “Americans are equally divided between dismantling and priority setting, suggesting that the choice between the two philosophical groups is linked to life circumstances, disillusionment, and partisanship.” Light lays out five reform proposals that reflect public sentiment after the election.

Initially, these comparisons were only among the 24 major departments and agencies.  Today, Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey data are available to line managers across 28,000 work units.  The survey results are used to gauge employee engagement, and to fine tune management priorities.  Most career senior executives are held accountable for trends in employee survey results in their organizations. 

68 percent. Government Executive reports: “Sixty-eight percent of the federal government’s top career corps will experience their first presidential transition in January as senior executives, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management.” 

Background.  Reform legislation adopted in 2004 in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that restructured the intelligence community included requirements to standardize and better align the background security clearance process across agencies.  But in the years that followed, the consolidation efforts took time, culminating in a 2008 presidential directive to improve the process.

John Kamensky

The data breach at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in the spring of 2015 was breathtaking in scope – nearly 22 million sensitive personnel records stolen.  But this wasn’t a new issue.  There had been breaches at the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, the IRS, even the National Security Agency.