FCW Insider: July 2

House panel advances measure to eliminate CMO

The Defense Department's number three job would be eliminated thanks to a late-add amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

NSA to release advisory on VPN security amid telework boom

Organizations that spent the past decade hardening their corporate networks must now contend with their workforce signing in from insecure, unmanaged personal devices at home.

'Sharpiegate' probe elicits rebuke from IG

The Inspector General at the Department of Commerce is publicly complaining that the agency is using concerns about redactions as cover for blocking the complete release of a critical report surrounding the president's 2019 misstatements about the path of Hurricane Dorian.

Immigration judges' union sues DOJ over public speaking policy

The National Association of Immigration Judges is suing the Department of Justice over restrictions that cover public speaking about immigration issues.

Former AFGE chief and union sued over abuse allegations

Plaintiffs ask for compensation and punishment, federal monitor to reform union.

Quick Hits

***A bill from Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) would require agencies to conduct cost-benefit analyses before being allowed to relocate if it is passed into law. The bill has support from federal sector advocacy groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, Project on Government Oversight, and the American Federation of Government Employees.

The Conducting Oversight to Secure Transparency of Relocating Act would require agencies to conduct and make public their findings according to "best practices" that would include analyzing data such as costs of rent and personnel, and the impacts of potential loss of knowledgeable veteran staffers and "short- and long-term impacts on the ability of the agency to carry out its mission." Agency Inspectors General would be able to review the reports before they're made public.

The bill comes after several agencies such as the Agriculture Department relocated the Economic Research Institute and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City and the Bureau of Land Management relocated its headquarters to Grand Junction, Colo.