The federal government saw fewer staff losses in fiscal year 2023

The government saw lower staff turnover in fiscal 2023, but some demographic groups still saw higher attrition rates than others. Women and young people chose to leave federal jobs in 2023 at a higher-than-average rate. An analysis of the data by the Partnership for Public Service shows where agencies may want to focus more of their recruiting efforts over the next few years. For example, employees under 30 left their jobs at a rate of 12% last year, while federal workers in their 40s left the government at a rate of just 4%. The Partnership said that’s especially important because workers under 30 already make up a very small portion of the government workforce — less than 8%.
The National Treasury Employees Union is calling for more support for Customs and Border Protection employees after a recent increase in workload. The NTEU, which represents CBP officers, said Congress must provide the agency with funding to significantly increase staffing. According to CBP’s staffing model, the agency needs about 10,000 additional employees to effectively handle the growing workload. The White House’s recent efforts to combat drug trafficking are a step in the right direction to support CBP officers, the union said. But congressional resources are needed to make long-term changes.
The federal government will begin enforcing the REAL ID requirements next May. However, the newly proposed rule would give agencies the flexibility to phase in the requirements over two years. The Transportation Security Administration has said the phased approach to REAL ID will limit the impact on agencies’ operations and reduce negative public perceptions. The REAL ID Act establishes minimum standards for driver’s licenses and identification cards that federal agencies can accept. TSA is accepting comments on the proposed rule until Oct. 15.
NITAAC and NASA SEWP program offices are open longer during the last few weeks of the federal fiscal year to help agency contracting officers place expiring funds on contracts. The NIH IT Acquisition and Assessment Center, or NITAAC, is open until 8:00 p.m. weekdays and will be open the weekends of September 21 and 22, and September 28 and 29 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. NASA SEWP will also remain open until 8:00 p.m. weekdays and will offer Saturday hours on September 21 and 28. Both NITAAC and SEWP will be open until midnight on September 30, the last day of fiscal year 2024.
Agencies seeking additional IT modernization funding have updated requirements. The Technology Modernization Fund board now expects agencies to repay at least 50 percent of their loans, but a proposal with a 100 percent repayment plan would be more competitive in obtaining funding. The board’s new criteria for what constitutes a competitive proposal outlines new requirements in seven categories, from repayment model to expected return on investment and ability to execute. The TMF board has updated its criteria for what constitutes a competitive proposal as the amount of funding decreases. Congress has not provided new funding for fiscal year 2024, and the House and Senate are divided on providing new funding for next year.
The U.S. military is struggling to fill the ranks of its medical corps. The Defense Department spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year training and retaining its doctors, but the pace of recruitment has not kept up with the number of personnel leaving the service. RAND researchers found that placing active-duty Army doctors in civilian hospitals, where they receive civilian salaries, could help the service retain enough doctors to meet its needs. Military doctors splitting their time between an Army hospital and a civilian hospital in the same week could also help with retention rates. The researchers said these solutions are not quick fixes but have “enough advantages to these courses of action that they are worth exploring.”
The Defense Department will first offer its soldiers flexible spending accounts for health care during a special enrollment period in March 2025. It will allow soldiers to set aside up to $3,200 from their pre-tax earnings to cover health care expenses, including co-pays, contact lenses, eyeglasses, dental care and annual deductibles. The initiative is one of several actions Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced to improve the quality of life for soldiers and their families.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has found that critical infrastructure is vulnerable to basic cyber threats. What is the most effective way to break into U.S. critical infrastructure? Stolen user accounts, email phishing and compromised passwords top the list, according to an analysis from the latest round of CISA vulnerability assessments. The cybersecurity agency conducted 143 assessments across multiple sectors last year. CISA assessment teams copied many of the tactics used by China-linked hackers like Volt Typhoon. U.S. officials warn that Volt Typhoon and other hacking groups are targeting sectors such as energy, water and communications.