Finding budget savings through better acquisition is a priority at agencies across government. The General Services Administration is providing a training opportunity for your acquisition people to get the latest tools to do it.

Congress is already starting on the fiscal 2015 budget. They didn’t wait for the White House’s budget request this week. Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, writes for our special report, “Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.” Clark writes we should accept the budget process is very political.

The Obama Administration’s budget request for 2015 and military strategy for the next four years are both out. Some experts worry the link between money in the budget and strategy in the Quadrennial Defense Review may be weak or missing. Barry Pavel, vice president and director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council and former special assistant to the president and senior director for defense policy and strategy on the National Security Council staff, says that linkage problem isn’t unique to this QDR.

President Obama’s fiscal 2015 budget request is in Congress’s hands now. Officials from the administration are all over Capitol Hill today, talking to members about why they should approve the requests in that budget. Brian Deese, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, joined Francis Rose as part of our special report, “Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.”

President Obama’s 2015 budget request includes a lot of money to improve training for employees across government and especially in the Senior Executive Service. The goal of that training is a more capable and a more engaged work force. Jeff Neal is the senior vice president of ICF International and former chief human capital officer at the Department of Homeland Security.

Pentagon officials say they need an additional $26 billion in 2015 and $115 billion more in the four years after that in order to adequately perform their missions. The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says that’s not going to happen.

A second former federal official clears his name of wrongdoing in the aftermath of the General Services Administration Western Regions Conference scandal. The Merit Systems Protection Board rules GSA fired James Weller without cause. Federal News Radio’s Executive Editor brings us exclusive details of the MSPB’s ruling.