Congress

  • As a matter of "caution," the Office of Management and Budget discussed shutdown contingencies with agencies today as Congress continues to debate a bipartisan budget deal. Federal funding runs out at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

    December 11, 2014
  • The Office of Personnel Management's retirement claims backlog is down by about 10,000 claims in the past 10 months. The average processing time is at 37 days. OPM says an updated case management system will help it do better, but it's not sure yet what exactly that system will look like. Jessica Klement, legislative director for National Active and Retired Federal Employees, and her association's president, Richard Thissen, testified Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, US Postal Service and the Census. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the concerns she's hearing from NARFE members.

    December 11, 2014
  • Office of Personnel Management officials told the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Census about its plan to buy a case management system. The case management system will serve as the foundation for yet another attempt at modernizing the retirement system.

    December 11, 2014
  • Whether or not North Korea was behind the recent cyber attack on Sony Pictures, its level of sophistication suggests it was sponsored by a country, not a group of hackers. And the FBI believes the same attack could just as easily have penetrated most sophisticated networks, including government ones.

    December 11, 2014
  • What federal employees should know about the $1 trillion, 1,603-page spending bill for fiscal 2015.

    December 10, 2014
  • By ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional aides say a final agreement has been sealed on a massive $1.1 trillion government-wide spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown and fund most of…

    December 10, 2014
  • By DAVID ESPO and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Time running short, Republicans and Democrats agreed Tuesday on a $1.1 trillion spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and delay a politically-charged struggle…

    December 10, 2014
  • By DAVID ESPO and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Key lawmakers weighed legislation to permit a reduction of benefits for up to 1 million retirees at economically distressed multiemployer pension plans, officials said…

    December 09, 2014
  • The House and Senate Appropriations Committees may not be able to release the 2015 omnibus spending bill Monday. Policy riders could derail its chances for passage. David Hawkings, senior editor of Roll Call, writes the Hawkings Here blog. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the chances that Congress will pass an omnibus bill before the continuing resolution runs out on Thursday.

    December 08, 2014
  • The results of a governmentwide sweep to see how well agencies are meeting the goals set by the DATA Act is headed to Congress. The Government Accountability Office is bringing its results to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The GAO reports most agencies still have a tough road ahead. That road includes a 2015 deadline to create governmentwide data standards. Chris Mihm, managing director for strategic issues at the GAO, tells In Depth with Francis Rose, the sooner your agency meets those goals, the better.

    December 08, 2014
  • The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act is still attached to the 2015 Defense authorization bill the House passed and the Senate will debate this week. The latest version of FITARA looks a bit different than the original. Still, the new bill would hand civilian agency CIOs more authority, prioritize hiring of specialty IT experts and maximize use of data centers. Trey Hodgkins is Senior Vice President of Public Sector at the Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector, a division of the Information Technology Industry Council. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss what we can expect from the compromise version of FITARA.

    December 08, 2014
  • The Government Accountability Office denied the sixth and final protest of the OS3 strategic sourcing contract awards. GSA expects the contract to save the government $90 million a year.

    December 08, 2014
  • Friday was a good day for feds. They found out they will receive a bonus holiday at Christmas. But will this week bring more holiday joy or will Scrooge show up in the form of a government shutdown, asks Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    December 08, 2014
  • By ERICA WERNER and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to avoid a showdown over immigration, House Republican leaders are moving to make a deal with Democrats to pass a spending bill that…

    December 05, 2014