After a record 136-day confirmation battle, Regina McCarthy became the 13th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 18, 2013. At her first public speech as administrator two weeks later, McCarthy told a crowd…
Category: Spotlight
Spotlight: ATF
After a cliffhanger Senate vote on July 31, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has its first permanent director in 7 years. B. Todd Jones, acting director since 2011, now officially heads a…
Spotlight: DOE
The hall was packed on Monday, August 26, to hear energy secretary Ernest Moniz deliver his first major policy address at Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy. Just three months on the job, Secretary Moniz elaborated…
Spotlight: APHIS
August is Tree Check Month, thanks to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which urges each of us to examine tree bark for signs of Asian Longhorned Beetle damage. Protecting the nation’s forests from…
GovSpeak: Chained CPI
Chained CPI is one element of the budget blueprint President Obama released last Wednesday (April 10) that is getting a lot of attention. So what, exactly, is chained CPI? It’s short for “Chained Consumer Price Index…
Spotlight: IRS
As procrastinating Americans prepare to file their 2012 federal tax returns by midnight tonight (April 15), we thought this would be a good time to take a look at the agency to which they’ll be sent:…
Spotlight: U.S. Bureau of the Census
Which federal agency’s headquarters received a 2012 Award of Excellence in Architecture from AIA DC (the Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects)? Skidmore, Owings & Merrill won the award for its design of the…
Spotlight: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Which federal agency oversees the operation of the nation’s 100+ power-producing nuclear reactors, as well as about 36 research and test reactors? Created by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) began…
GovSpeak: “The Antideficiency Act”
Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution states that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law….” The Antideficiency Act (ADA), originally enacted in 1884 and most…
Spotlight: U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command
Which federal agency’s motto is “Freedom’s Front Door”? The U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM)—a Department of Defense (DoD) joint civilian and military organization—is charged with the unique and challenging task of determining the physical, mental…