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Congress
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The big national defense authorization bill is moving through Congress. It passed the House yesterday, and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. In purely military spending terms, the bill is a mixed bag. Some programs and platforms get plus-ups, others get cuts. Todd Harrison is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He's been studying the bill, and joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to analyze the bill's winners and losers.
December 05, 2014 -
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Hundreds of thousands of federal employees deemed essential during the 2013 government shutdown will be receiving a legal notice if they are entitled to join a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the government. To win a settlement, the employee must join the class action suit. Heidi Burkiewicz is a partner with Mehri & Skalet, the law firm handling this case. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to talk about the lawsuit and what it means if you are classified as essential.
December 04, 2014 -
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The Senate Armed Services Commitee is reviewing a group of new White House nominees to fill top-level positions at the Defense Department. The list includes DoD's general counsel position, the commander of Pacific Command and three assistant secretary positions.
December 03, 2014 -
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The House and Senate Armed Services committee members agreed to keep a pared down version of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act in the final National Defense Authorization Act.
December 03, 2014 -
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The National Nuclear Security Administration has a guide for predicting how much its large projects will cost. But the agency's project managers don't know it exists, and it's not entirely their fault. That's according to David Trimble -- he's Director of Natural Resources and Environment Issues at the Government Accountability Office. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he suggested ways to improve NNSA's cost estimation process.
December 01, 2014 -
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Congress comes back to work today to wrap up the 113th Congress. No one thinks streamlining oversight of the Homeland Security Department is one of the things they'll address in the lame duck session, but many people think it's something they should address -- at least soon. Janet Hale is one of those people. She's former Under Secretary for Management at DHS. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she explained how we got here.
December 01, 2014 -
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When Congress returns on Dec. 1, it will be pressed for time on deciding its next course on funding before the current continuing resolution expires at midnight on Dec. 12.
November 28, 2014 -
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Congressional leaders insist they can get an omnibus spending bill done to fund your agency for the rest of the fiscal year before the current continuing resolution runs out Dec. 11. But a cromnibus -- a combination omnibus and CR -- may be a lot more likely. That's the bad news. The good news is a bill like that might mean minimal impact on your pay and benefits. Katie Maddocks is governmental affairs representative for the Federal Managers Association. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she said a cromnibus, or even a plain old CR, isn't the worst that could happen.
November 25, 2014 -
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The continuing resolution funding your agency expires in 16 days, on Dec. 11. The possibilities for what happens after that ranges from another CR, to a full government shutdown, or even to Congress passing an omnibus bill. Jessica Klement is legislative director of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she offered predictions on what might happen over the next few weeks.
November 25, 2014 -
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An amendment to the Freedom of Information Act appeared to sail through the Senate. The goal is to hold agencies more accountable for disclosing records and create a more uniform system for the public to file FOIA requests. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill unanimously. Sean Vitka, federal policy manager at the Sunlight Foundation, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with analysis of what the bill would do.
November 25, 2014 -
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services operate websites meant to help Medicare patients navigate the tangled world of health care providers. But the sites often fail at basic tasks. Auditors from the Government Accountability Office found some don't provide enough information to compare prices, while others don't give adequate information about quality of care. Linda Kohn is director of Healthcare Issues at the GAO. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to share more of what GAO found.
November 25, 2014 -
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Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) says congressional appropriators are making steady progress on an omnibus bill to fund your agency next year. Or at least keep it running past Dec. 11, when the continuing resolution expires. David Hawkings is Senior Editor of Roll Call. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he gave a breakdown of the appropriators' progress.
November 24, 2014 -
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The Defense Department is getting better at handling its contract data. The Government Accountability Office says 32 of its 33 components turned in an inventory review of their contracts. GAO also says more DoD components are following its recommendations to improve their contract reporting. Tim DiNapoli is Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management Issues at GAO. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the Pentagon's making progress, but it still has a way to go until it's perfect.
November 24, 2014 -
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Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promises to avoid another government shutdown. Lawmakers have until mid-December to turn that promise into reality. Or not. It's a good idea to be prepared. The Government Accountability Office reviewed how agencies handled last year's lapse in appropriations. Yvonne Jones, the agency's director of Strategic Issues, explained the findings on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
November 24, 2014
