At present, online retirement claims are being handled in roughly two-thirds the time it takes to process conventional paper-based applications.
Michele Sandiford
- Close to 12,000 new retirement claims were submitted to the Office of Personnel Management last month. Combined with OPM’s handling of approximately 17,000 retirement applications, the agency succeeded in shrinking its overall inventory by several thousand claims. April marked the first time OPM’s retirement backlog dropped below 50,000 claims in over five months. At present, online retirement claims are also being handled in roughly two-thirds the time it takes to process conventional paper-based applications.
- The Social Security Administration has boosted online transactions by 20% compared to last year. It also slashed the initial disability claims backlog by 33% and trimmed disability hearing wait times by 40%. These achievements were among those SSA spotlighted on the one-year anniversary of Commissioner Frank Bisignano assuming leadership of the agency. These gains were accomplished despite having 11,000 fewer employees. SSA says its priorities moving forward include enhancing the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. The agency named a dedicated leader and formed an SSI Improvement Team to simplify processes, assist recipients, and curb improper payments.
- A federal judge in New York ruled that the Department of Government Efficiency’s AI-powered mass cancellation of humanities grants last year was illegal. The U.S. District Court judge is directing the National Endowment for the Humanities to withdraw its termination notices for 1,400 grants valued at more than $100 million. The judge determined that DOGE members relied on ChatGPT to single out grants supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion but failed to clearly define what those terms meant.
- Three out of four USDA researchers asked to relocate have informed their union they refuse to go. For the second time in six years, USDA is seeking to transfer D.C.-area employees at the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to Kansas City. Around 85% of affected employees chose to resign or retire rather than relocate during the first Trump administration. A local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees reports that 76% of impacted employees say they will not move to Kansas City this time.
- Democrats are pressing the Office of Personnel Management to keep the Combined Federal Campaign running. In a letter to OPM this week, lawmakers cautioned that shutting down the CFC would be “devastating” for hospitals, food banks, and other organizations that rely on charitable contributions through the program. OPM recently took the CFC’s online donation platform offline, but the agency has not yet confirmed whether the program will be formally shut down this year. The CFC has been running since the Reagan administration, enabling federal employees to donate to charities worldwide.
- A group of Republican lawmakers is pressing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to finalize a long-delayed rule that would permit individuals to carry firearms and other weapons on land managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The lawmakers noted that constituents in their districts who “enjoy recreational activities on Corps-managed land have reached out to voice concerns about this restriction.” They pointed out that millions of acres of Corps-managed property, including campgrounds, trails, and waterways, remain under restrictions that prohibit individuals from carrying a firearm for self-defense. The lawmakers argued that Corps-managed lands stand as an “outlier” among federal agencies because they continue to broadly ban firearms, unlike the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Completing the rule, the lawmakers said, would “foster clarity and consistency.”
- OMB has selected a veteran federal technology manager to serve as the deputy federal CIO. Thomas Flagg is poised to step into that position. Federal News Network has learned that Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia shared the announcement with agency CIOs yesterday. Flagg, who currently serves as the Education Department CIO, will succeed Drew Mykelgard, who departed in September to enter the private sector after more than three years in the role. Barbaccia noted in his email that Flagg distinguished himself among a large pool of candidates due to the breadth and depth of his experience across multiple technology leadership positions. Flagg also spent 11 years at the Labor Department before transitioning to Education in 2025.
- Military spouses are calling on Congress to pass the Military Spouse Small Business Recognition Act, a bill aimed at broadening access to capital and Small Business Administration resources for military spouse entrepreneurs. More than 50 military spouse-owned businesses met with lawmakers and congressional staff on Thursday to push for legislation that would classify military spouse-owned businesses as a disadvantaged category under the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program. This classification would lower borrowing costs for military spouse entrepreneurs by eliminating SBA loan guarantee fees for loans up to $1 million. It would also cut equity injection requirements by at least 5%. Additionally, the legislation would mandate that the SBA track and publish data on military spouse participation in SBA loan programs.
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