Congress

  • If you've been in government for a while, you know it is something like riding a roller coaster, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Thrills, chills but rarely any spills. So, how long will your luck hold out?

    June 24, 2014
  • Your agency's funding bill may be among the spending vehicles that appear to be stalling out in Congress. The Senate's effort to get several bills through in a package has hit a roadblock. David Hawkings is Senior Editor at Roll Call and host of the Hawkings Here blog. He detailed the stops-and-starts of the agency budget process on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    June 23, 2014
  • The Defense Department's showing negative side effects from a rough transition to a new healthcare contractor in the western United States. Those side effects are because of a 21-billion dollar contract award to a healthcare administration company new to the TRICARE system. Debra Draper is director of health care issues at the Government Accountability Office. She said on In Depth with Francis Rose that cost overruns and healthcare delays are cropping up because TRICARE management didn't pay close enough attention to the company's transition process.

    June 23, 2014
  • The House of Representatives passed a bill that would cut more than $300 million from last year's Internal Revenue Service budget. This adds to the tension between Congress and the IRS over lost emails.

    June 23, 2014
  • An early House version appropriations language for 2015 would bring the IRS budget below sequestration levels in fiscal 2015. Earlier this week, the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government approved funding levels that are more than $300 million below what the agency has to spend this year. IRS officials have been adamant that even that level is far too low. The bill comes right after warnings from the Government Accountability Office for the IRS to make some long term budget plans to better deal with an uncertain financial future. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, is looking at what the cuts would mean for agency operations and the workforce. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose these cuts go too far. Read related article by Federal News Radio's Stephanie Wasko.

    June 20, 2014
  • Despite reports of delayed patient treatments, falsified records and preventable veteran deaths, the Department of Veterans Affairs said all of its 470 senior executives have been rated "successful" over the past four fiscal years. The ratings have sparked outrage among members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, whose chairman called the performance rating and bonus system at the VA "outlandish."

    June 20, 2014
  • The IRS keeps revealing more instances of lost emails of employees in its tax exempt division. This week's revelation from the House Ways and Means Committee follows Friday's disclosure that a computer crash eliminated thousands of emails from former division chief Lois Lerner. Investigators now say another six division employees had their computers crash. Two Republican lawmakers call on the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS. Commissioner John Koskinen faces skeptical members of Congress today. Dan Metcalfe is an American University law professor and executive director of the Collaboration on Government Secrecy. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss the records management side of this issue.

    June 20, 2014
  • Legislation in the Senate would allow the Veterans Affairs secretary to dismiss members of the Senior Executive Service on the grounds of performance, and that could mean more appeal cases for the already-swamped Merit Systems Protection Board.

    June 19, 2014
  • Federal Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel says good management policies should be enough to improve how agencies buy, operate and deliver technology.

    June 17, 2014
  • A new Government Accountability Office report says the Pentagon needs more comprehensive information about potential cost savings when it considers implementing future administrative furloughs.

    June 17, 2014
  • Congress is digging in this week to pass a bevy of bills. On the to-do list, appropriations and an overhaul of the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. Bob Cusack, managing editor of the Hill Newspaper, joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss what else Congress has on its agenda this week.

    June 17, 2014
  • The mid-term elections are upon us, and some people are complaining about political fatigue and gridlock. But for federal and postal workers — and retirees — these may be the good old days, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    June 17, 2014
  • With an employment drop over the past year, agencies must adopt a "less with less" mentality, according Bob Tobias, director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He says executives must be honest with Congress about their limited capabilities.

    June 16, 2014
  • Vendors protested GSA's desire to extend the Office Supplies 2 contract for six more months. GSA says agencies can buy office supplies through the multiple award schedules. National Industries for the Blind protests the OS3 contract to the agency, not to GAO.

    June 16, 2014