The forecast for fiscal 2014 doesn’t look too bright for the Defense Department. Day One saw a government shutdown thrown on top of the pressure caused by sequestration. Todd Harrison, fellow for Defense Budget Studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, was today’s guest on Pentagon Solutions.

The top Democrat and top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee are nearing agreement on a cybersecurity bill designed to enhance the sharing of cyber threat information among private sector companies, and with the government.

Help is available if you’re furloughed because of the government shutdown. Communication is harder now, but the help is still there. Earl Pinto is director of the Division of Employee Assistance Program for the Federal Occupational Health Service at the Health and Human Services department.

A group of associations is trying to keep any discussion of cuts to federal employee, retiree and veterans benefits out of the conversation when it comes to reopening the government, debt ceilings and deficit reduction. The groups, led by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, say White House and Congressional leaders need to come with better options than the chained CPI formula. Federal News Radio’s executive editor Jason Miller explains why these groups are opposed to the use of a chained CPI to determine cost of living increases.

Federal contractors are already dealing with stop work orders and furloughs because of the government shutdown. But if the country hits the debt ceiling an entirely new set of problems might show up.

The latest shutdown bill to pass the House of Representatives would pay essential federal employees on time before the end of the shutdown. The vote was 420 to zero. That means most Republicans who support the shutdown have now voted twice to pay employees who aren’t working during the shutdown. Federal News Radio Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says it’s hard to tell who’s in favor of what right now.