The TSP board is also reporting that participant satisfaction with the agency’s customer service center is at nearly 94%.
Sean Davis
- Thrift Savings Plan participation is at an all-time high — and nearly 90% of Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) participants are contributing enough to receive a full match from the government. The TSP board is also reporting that participant satisfaction with the agency’s customer service center is at nearly 94%. Satisfaction scores have remained at that level, now for more than a year.
- The vast majority of federal agencies are facing major human capital challenges. A new analysis shows that out of 24 major agencies, 21 have significant workforce issues, according to agencies’ inspector general reports covering top management challenges for the current fiscal year. Human capital concerns were the number one cited issue governmentwide, in large part due to the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce. But they also stem from more longstanding difficulties with recruiting and retaining staff.
- IRS workforce cuts could limit the agency’s ability to roll out AI tools. The IRS has spent tens of millions of dollars annually on AI. But the Government Accountability Office found that AI experts were among the 25% of employees who left the agency last year. One of the biggest users of AI in the IRS, the Research, Applied Analytics and Statistics group, lost more than 60 employees who worked on AI full-time or part-time. One official told GAO that their office may no longer deploy an AI model focused on prioritizing tax returns for audit because the program may no longer have staff to conduct the audits.
- The Army is raising its maximum enlistment age to 42, up from the previous limit of 35. Under the new policy, recruits — with or without prior military service — can join the Regular Army, Army National Guard or Army Reserve. Recruiting officials have previously said that the average age of new applicants has been increasing over the last several years. The new policy also removes the waiver requirement for applicants with a single conviction for marijuana possession or drug paraphernalia.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed military chaplains to replace the rank insignia on their uniforms with religious insignia. Hegseth said chaplains will retain their rank as an officer, but the change is a visual representation of their role, which he described as among the highest due to their “divine calling.” Hegseth also said the Defense Department will be using 31 religious affiliation codes instead of more than 200 previously recognized faith codes. “These are the first steps toward restoring the esteemed position of Chaplain as moral anchors of our fighting force. Theirs is a high and sacred calling, but they can only be successful if they’re given the freedom to boldly guide and care for their flock,” he said.
- TSA employees have now spent more than half of fiscal 2026 under a government shutdown. TSA workers and other Department of Homeland Security staff will miss their third paycheck of this current 40-day-long shutdown on Friday unless lawmakers quickly reach a funding deal. Union representatives for TSA workers say many employees live paycheck to paycheck. More than 400 TSA staff have left the agency over the past month.
- A governmentwide council of agency watchdogs has a new leader. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Inspector General Cheryl Mason has been elected to serve as chairwoman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. Starting in April, she’ll take over for Tammy Hull, the Postal Service’s inspector general who previously led the watchdog group. Mason became VA’s top watchdog after President Donald Trump fired many agency IGs shortly after taking office last year.
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pushing two new bills to expand whistleblower protections for “duty bound” and government corporation employees. One bill would ensure employees whose primary duties are to investigate and report wrongdoing receive the same whistleblower protections as other federal workers. Grassley said the bill is needed to correct recent rulings that require duty bound employees to meet a higher bar to prove whistleblower retaliation. And another Grassley bill would require government corporations to include anti-gag provisions in their nondisclosure policies.
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