The House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill to make it easier to fire VA workers accused of misconduct

The House of Representatives will vote next week on a bill that would make it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire employees accused of misconduct. Congress already passed legislation in 2017 to do this. But federal courts and the Merit Systems Protection Board blocked the law from covering much of the VA’s workforce. House VA Committee Chairman Mike Bost said his bill would help the VA remove poor performers in weeks or months instead of years. VA leaders said they already have the tools they need to hold employees accountable.
Military suicides increased in 2023, continuing a disturbing long-term trend. The Defense Department’s annual report on suicide published Thursday shows that the number of active-duty soldiers who died by suicide rose again last year. The increase in suicide deaths in 2023 was mainly caused by spikes in the army and air force. While numbers in the Marine Corps remained flat in 2023, the service has the highest suicide rate of any service branch. The Pentagon plans to invest $125 million in suicide prevention efforts by 2025.
Participants in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program will have the opportunity to have their questions answered during this Open Season. Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly will host his annual Open Season workshop this Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia. During the workshop, federal government officials can receive information and advice from FEHB experts from the Office of Personnel Management and Consumers’ Checkbook. This year’s Open Season has just begun and the federal government has until December 9 to review their insurance options for the 2025 plan year.
The Pentagon is taking another big step toward embracing 5G wireless technologies on military bases. A new private 5G deployment strategy, signed in October and made public this week, outlines a basic framework for how the department will use wireless services for secure high-speed connectivity on its installations. Detailed implementation guidelines are still to come, but calls for technology deployments tailored to each base’s mission, an “accelerated” deployment schedule for 5G technologies, and encouraging the development of non-proprietary Open Radio Access Network approaches.
The Army Software Factory will bring together military and government personnel to develop technology solutions for rapid response scenarios in a hands-on hackathon. The winners will be announced in three categories, including mobile development, dashboard development and data analytics. The hackathon will focus on solving challenges related to the Department of Defense mission, but personnel from other government agencies may participate after approval from their supervisors. The event will be held from December 10 to December 12 at Austin Community College.
DoD appears to be sticking to its promise to take swift action with its new Replicator initiative. That is the department’s project to put autonomous systems into use in large quantities. This week, the Pentagon announced its second tranche of Replicator contracts: the publicly announced parts include small unmanned aerial systems made by Anduril Industries and Performance Drone Works, but other components of this round of acquisitions are classified.
Federal boards of directors want to expand their reach to even more employees by tapping into a network of local federal leaders. Federal boards of directors host job fairs and training sessions, organize charitable donations, and host information sessions about federal health benefits. Last year, FEB’s programs reached approximately 15,000 FBIs and reduced agency training costs by nearly $7.8 million, OPM reported. Looking ahead, FEB leaders said they plan to expand their reach using a new regional model. The FEB program plans to more than double the number of FBIs who have access to their programs and services across the country.
The Postal Service is reporting a larger financial loss than in recent years. USPS had a net loss of $9.5 billion for fiscal year 2024. That’s despite year-over-year revenue growth and a reduction in controllable expenses. The agency expects to end this fiscal year with a net loss of nearly $7 billion, far from the break-even target of its 10-year reform plan. By 2025, USPS plans to reduce the number of trips between post offices and mail processing plants to collect mail and packages in more rural areas. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the effort will save USPS billions of dollars a year.