Hoyer: John Berry in the running for Interior
February 1st, 2013 | Interior | Posted by Stephen Losey
John Berry (file photo/Getty Images)
Since Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Jan. 16 that he plans to step down at the end of March, federal government watchers have speculated that Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry may be in the running to replace him. When I asked Berry that day about the job, he wouldn’t even say whether he had talked to President Obama. “No comment,” Berry said. “At this point, I stand ready to serve the President in any capacity he desires.”
But his old friend and former boss, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, is far less reticent about Berry’s possible promotion.
“Yes, I do know that [Obama] is looking at him,” Hoyer told me at a lunch briefing in Bowie, Md. Hoyer continued:
I’ve talked to the Obama administration. I’ve talked to [Obama adviser] Peter Rouse, who’s helping coordinate that. They really like John Berry. They think John Berry has done an outstanding job as director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Hoyer lauded Berry’s experience as Interior’s assistant secretary for policy, management and budget during the Clinton administration. “He, in effect, ran the department,” Hoyer said. “Bruce Babbitt, who was secretary at the time, has told me that he did an absolutely extraordinary job. So I think John Berry would be a wonderful secretary of Interior.”
Hoyer said he doesn’t know if the White House ultimately will select Berry, and notes that Interior secretaries have traditionally come from Western states. Berry is from Maryland. But Hoyer thinks the White House will make a decision soon, and said running Interior would be Berry’s dream job.
What he wants is Interior. He loves conservation issues, he loves preservation, he loves the outdoors. He’s wonderful, wonderful, one of the most positive human beings I’ve ever met in my life.
OPM declined to comment, and referred me to Berry’s previous statement.
Tags: John Berry, Steny Hoyer
John Berry: ‘No comment’ on Interior secretary post
January 16th, 2013 | Interior | Posted by Stephen Losey
John Berry (file photo/Getty Images)
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s decision to step down at the end of March opens up one more Cabinet position in the second Obama administration — and may present an opportunity for Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry.
While Berry is most known these days for his focus on federal hiring, pensions and other personnel matters, nature issues are especially close to his heart. He was director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park before Obama tapped him to run OPM, and prior to that, served as executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. He also served as Interior’s assistant secretary for policy, management and budget during the Clinton administration.
The Washington Post’s Lisa Rein reported in a profile of Berry last fall that his friends say he is seeking the job. If selected and confirmed, Berry would be the first openly gay man to serve in a presidential Cabinet.
But when I asked Berry this morning if he had talked to Obama about running Interior, he was tight-lipped:
No comment. At this point, I stand ready to serve the President in any capacity he desires.
Tags: Interior Department, John Berry, Office of Personnel Management
Interior awards $35 million contract for Google cloud email
May 1st, 2012 | Information Technology Interior | Posted by Nicole Johnson
The Interior Department expects to migrate 92,000 employees to a single cloud-based email system by December, according to a senior agency official.
Interior awarded a $35 million contract for cloud email and collaboration tools to Ohio-based Onix Networking Corp, according to an announcement on fbo.gov. The Google Apps for Government solution will also provide employees with instant messaging, desktop video conferencing, web-based collaboration systems and email on their mobile devices.
“That is one of our first big enterprise services that we hope we can ramp up quickly,” Andrew Jackson, deputy assistant secretary for technology, information and business services, said in an interview. “There will be a dedicated group that is launching and migrating and implementing the enterprise services.”
The award comes more than a year after a contentious battle between Google and Microsoft for Interior’s business.
Tags: cloud computing, email, Google, Microsoft
Watchdog group: Four IG offices now leaderless for years
April 11th, 2012 | Interior Labor State White House | Posted by Sean Reilly
Hard to believe, but the State Department’s Office of Inspector General has been without a permanent head for more than four years.
That fact, highlighted this week by the Project on Government Oversight, puts the office in an unlucky class of four IG agencies that have had vacancies at the top for at least 1,000 days.
The others are the Interior and Labor departments and the Corporation for National and Community Service. While the Obama administration last fall nominated attorney Deborah Jeffrey for the inspector general’s job at the national service corporation, the Senate has yet to confirm her.
But the White House has named no one for the top positions at the other three offices. Although there are undoubtedly plenty of competent career folks to carry on in the meantime, ‘”a permanent IG has the ability to set a long-term strategic plan, . . . including setting investigative and audit priorities,” POGO said on its web site, adding that the administration has “no good excuse” for failing to nominate someone for a post that has been vacant for years.
The White House press office did not respond to a request for comment today.
Tags: Corporation for National and Community Service, inspector general
Three awesome government jobs you have probably never heard of
January 4th, 2012 | HR Management Interior Staffing Uncategorized | Posted by Andy Medici
#3 Job Title: Criminal Investigator
Agency: National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives contains billions of documents and items that make up our nations cultural and political heritage. Presidential letters, military documents and even secret stuff regular folk like us cannot see (except perhaps Nicholas Cage). And sometimes people take documents from those archives and try to sell them.
The investigators comb the Internet, follow up on tips and travel to places such as Gettysburg, Pa., to look for documents, gather tips and educate traders at antique shows. Civil War documents are a ripe area for people trying to profit from government records, as there is high interest in items from that war.
Every so often, a news story about the team’s efforts bubbles to the surface, most recently when IG officers teamed with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Montgomery County, Md., police department in a raid on a former Archives employee’s home, seizing boxes of documents.
That’s right. Taking back those documents. So if you have ever watched “National Treasure” and thought to yourself, “I could definitely do a better job tracking down our nation’s documents, then this might be the career for you.
#2 Job Title:Bartender
Department:Department of the Army
So you have probably already heard of this job. But not for the Army, perhaps. According to the job title, the bartender “Operates a small full-service bar, mixing and serving the full range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.”
Sounds about right.
#1. Job Title:Biological Science Tech (Bison)
Agency:National Park Service
So there is nothing about this job I do not like. You travel across Yellowstone National Park (by ski, snowshoe or snowmobile) and use radio telemetry to locate buffalo/bison in rough terrain. You take notes about their locations and take biological samples for later study. You work in field laboratories and will assist in studying the vital statistics of individual bison.
And you will also have to watch out for grizzly bears. Seriously. Bears. (Here’s a full quote)
WORK ENVIRONMENT: This work is performed primarily outdoors, in cold conditions with ice and snow, with bison, elk, wolves, and coyotes very likely to be encountered, with a possibility of grizzly or black bears.
I can only imagine the job looks something like this…
Washington Monument has cracks, could cost $15 million to repair, report says
December 23rd, 2011 | Interior | Posted by Andy Medici
The Washington Monument, damaged in the August earthquake, is cracked in dozens of places, according to a National Park Service report released Thursday.
Six marble panels near the pointed top of the monument — called the “pyramidion” — have severe cracking, and. water is leaking through to the observation areas, according to the report.
The report — prepared by government contractors Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. and Tipping Mar — also documents other cracks throughout the structure.
The Park Service will receive $7.5 million in funds to repair the monument under the fiscal 2012 spending bill approved last week. The agency is expected to match that funding with private donations, according to legislation.
The report recommends
Temporary weatherization such as sealants and special insulation to prevent further leaks.
A new study to determine how vulnerable the monument is to future earthquakes.
Bureau estimates iPad could save millions
November 15th, 2011 | Information Technology Interior | Posted by Nicole Johnson
The Bureau of Land Management spends between $20.8 million and $33.3 million on computers for its employees.
By replacing computers with Apple iPads, the bureau expects it would have to spend far less — between $8 million and $12 million, according to internal documents obtained by the website governmentattic.org. The documents were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
It isn’t clear if the bureau’s current hardware costs are annual or over its five year technology refresh period, when it periodically replaces technology. Transitioning to the iPad would require “very little maintenance” over its lifespan, the bureau said.
Currently, the bureau has between 10,000 and 16,000 employees and each have on average 1.6 devices. An iPad would reduce the number of devices per employees because they wouldn’t need to travel with a second computer, the document said. “The same machine could be used on the desktop and as a mobile device” and reduce the number of devices by 6,400.
The bureau cited other benefits of using the iPad:
- It has a “monitor” and a USB interface.
- It is ideal for using during meets or in the field, and iPads could potentially reduce dependency on devices like thumb drives and air cards for Internet access.
- It could reduce the need for IT support staff, and the bureau could use Apple’s maintenance plan instead.
- It provides cell phone capabilities through certain applications and could replace the desktop phone.
But with those advantages come risks and concerns.
The iPads does not support PDF documents or Adobe Flash, and security concerns remain, the bureau said. (However, as some of our tech-savvy readers have noted, iPad users can open, read and store PDF documents).
Tags: Bureau of Land Management, iPad
Indian activist challenged the government–and is lauded for it
October 17th, 2011 | Interior Treasury | Posted by Sean Reilly
It’s not every day that national leaders pay tribute to someone who spearheaded a cause that will cost the government several billion dollars.
That distinction goes, however, to the late Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Interior and Treasury departments that prompted a $3.4 billion settlement to make up for their mismanagement of an Indian trust fund. Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet tribe from Montana, died late Sunday from cancer.
Elouise Cobell was the lead plaintiff on a lawsuit against the government that led to a $3.4 billion settlement.
In a statement today, President Obama said he and First Lady Michelle Obama were “saddened” to learn of Cobell’s passing.
“Elouise spoke out when she saw that the Interior Department had failed to account for billions of dollars that they were supposed to collect on behalf of more than 300,000 of her fellow Native Americans,” said Obama, who last year signed the law that put the settlement in place.
Also praising Cobell was current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who called her “a hero in every sense of the word.”
“She sought justice to address historical wrongs that had weighed on our nation’s conscience and was a significant force for change.”
Recognition was a long time coming.
In 1996, Cobell and four other Indians filed suit to force the government to account for billions of dollars received for oil and gas leases and other uses of Indian lands held in trust by the United States, according to an obituary released by her family. The suit eventually became a class-action case; the ensuing legal odyssey revealed government record-keeping so slipshod that a judge determined that Indians could never get a full reckoning.
The $3.4 billion negotiated settlement includes $1.5 billion to compensate land owners, along with $1.9 billion for a voluntary buyback program to consolidate land interests, according to the Interior Department. Because legal challenges to the settlement are continuing, however, no money has actually been disbursed at this point, said Bill McAllister, a spokesman for Cobell’s family.
Tags: Elouise Cobell, Ken Salazar
Interior announces largest solar project on public lands
October 7th, 2010 | Energy management Interior | Posted by Andy Medici
The White House continues to push renewable energy projects during National Energy Awareness month this October.
The latest is from the Interior Department, which has announced what they call the largest solar energy project on public lands.
From Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary
The Tessera Solar Imperial Valley Solar Project and the Chevron Energy Solutions Lucerne Valley Solar Project will both be built in the California desert. Together, the projects could produce up to 754 megawatts of renewable energy, power 226,000 – 566,000 American homes, and support almost 1,000 new jobs.
At the Department of the Interior, we have a special responsibility to help lead this effort. As stewards of our nation’s public lands, we oversee deserts, plains, and oceans that can make significant contributions to our nation’s renewable energy portfolio.
This follows on the heels of the White House announcing that solar panels will be placed on the White House. For more on that, click here.
Royalty-in-kind program winding down
September 27th, 2010 | Interior Uncategorized | Posted by Sean Reilly
RIK, RIP.
That’s the message from the Interior Department accompanying its next-to-last annual report about the “royalty-in-kind” program tarnished by repeated scandals.
The program, dating back to 1998, allows energy companies to pay royalties to the federal government with oil and gas instead of cash. After Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced last year that he was shutting it down, the program officially ends this Thursday, when the final contracts expire, the department said in a news release.
For fiscal 2009, the initiative generated benefits estimated at $23 million “depending on various assumptions regarding markets and administrative costs,” the newly issued report to Congress says. But it acknowledged that, using different assumptions, the total benefits could range from a low of negative $21 million to a high of $57 million.
Beginning several years ago, the royalty-in-kind program became the target of repeated federal investigations generally revolving around allegations of improperly cozy relationships between government employees and energy industry officials. In 2008, for example, the Interior Department’s inspector general found that the program’s former director had been moonlighting for an environmental and energy consulting firm while still on the federal payroll.
The final report on the royalty-in-kind program, covering fiscal 2010, will be released next year.