Congress

• Even defense hawks are pessimistic about DoD 2015 request for extra funds

  The Obama administration says the Defense Department needs an additional $26 billion in excess of next year's Defense spending caps in order to carry out DoD's mission. But even the staunchest defenders of the Pentagon budget on Capitol Hill acknowledge that the extra funding is unlikely to materialize.

  Budget

  March 07, 2014
• Pentagon, Senate lawmakers already at odds over 2015 budget cuts

  DoD's cost savings proposals for 2015 and beyond include something for every lawmaker to hate. The process of selling the budget on Capitol Hill officially kicked off Wednesday, and the reception was not exceptionally warm.

  Budget

  March 06, 2014
• GAO seeks budget hike to restore staffing from rock-bottom levels

  The Government Accountability Office is requesting about $525 million for fiscal 2015, an increase of about 4 percent, or $19 million, above current levels. The additional funding would allow the agency to continue staffing up the agency from the nearly rock-bottom levels it hit over the past few years. The additional funding would also allow GAO to make upgrades to its aging IT infrastructure and do long-deferred building upkeep and and maintenance

  Budget

  March 05, 2014
• Feds should not shoulder the burden of deficit reduction

  Federal employees continue to be Congress' go-to resource for deficit reduction through pay freezes and increases in their retirement contributions, according to Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Van Hollen's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

  Budget

  March 04, 2014
• Fixing the budget problem starts with accepting the politics behind it

  Adopting biennial appropriations and committing to stable funding for capital investments would go a long way towards fixing a broken budget process that is inherently political, says Bryan Clark of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Mr. Clark's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

  Budget

  March 04, 2014
• Long-term budget outlook key to fiscal success

  Under the current annual budget cycle, the difficult struggle to pass appropriations bills consumes too much valuable time and effort, says Robert Bixby, executive director of The Concord Coalition. Mr. Bixby's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

  Budget

  March 04, 2014
• Biennial budget process will reduce agency waste, increase congressional efficiency

  Twenty states currently use biennial budgeting, with great results, says Congressman Reid Ribble. Rep. Ribble's column is part of Federal News Radio's special report, Now or Never: Ideas to Save the Failing Budget Process.

  Budget

  March 04, 2014
• Senate bill blocks background-check firms from reviewing own work

  The Preventing Conflicts of Interest with Contractors Act would block the Office of Personnel Management from contracting with companies to perform final quality reviews if those same companies are also responsible for conducting initial investigations. OPM Director Katherine Archuleta announced in early February that, going forward, only federal employees would conduct final quality reviews. The new bill writes Archuleta's decision into law. Otherwise it could be reversed by a future OPM director.

  Congress

  February 28, 2014
• The BGOV Defense Summit: The New Pentagon Reality

  On this week's Capital Impact show, Admiral James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discusses Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's inaugural budget with Bloomberg Television's Peter Cook. February 27, 2014

  Budget

  February 27, 2014
• Will IRS budget pleas be ignored in Congress?

  IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government that budget and staffing reductions are impacting the agency's core missions of customer service and tax collection. The agency projects it will only be able to answer 61 percent of phone calls this year, meaning some 20 million phone calls will go unanswered. Meanwhile, taxpayers attempting to reach IRS offices are facing wait times that stretch past 20 minutes.

  Budget

  February 27, 2014
• Key Senate panel to probe federal pay, morale issues

  The Senate subcommittee with oversight of the federal workforce will take up the issue of federal-employee compensation and sinking employee morale. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the subcommittee chairman, said at the National Treasury Employees Union's annual legislative conference that the hearing would focus, in part, on making sure federal pay stays competitive with the private sector.

  Budget

  February 26, 2014
• Rep. Graves tries again to increase small business contracting goals

  The chairman of the Small Business Committee plans to introduce two bills today. One will increase the governmentwide small business prime contracting goal to 25 percent from 23 percent. The other focuses on contract bundling and data transparency.

  Congress

  February 26, 2014
• DoD ties another round of BRAC to sizable civilian personnel cuts

  Defense Department officials said reducing and realigning bases and depots will help them achieve more savings that can be put toward readiness. Acting Defense Deputy Secretary Christine Fox said this round of BRAC would be different than in 2005.

  Congress

  February 26, 2014
• Will there be acquisition reform in 2014?

  Jon Etherton, president of Etherton and Associates, Inc., will discuss whether Congress will pass acquisition reform this year. February 25, 2014

  Off the Shelf

  February 25, 2014